The Talk
by lucitasorrowsong
Summary: Emily decides that she cannot be with a vigilante anymore but the most unlikely meeting gives her the perfect win/win for everyone.
1. Chapter 1

The Talk

A Widowtracer Overwatch story by Asylumchild

 _Overwatch and all characters within are trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment. This is a work of fan fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright violations are intentional. All people, places, and situations are completely fictional and no relation to anyone real living or deceased._

 **Author's Note: The first two chapters of this story will give you a swift, hard kick in the feels. Just grab a tissue, dry your eyes, and keep reading. It gets better, I promise! - AC.**

 _The world could use more heroes, but sometimes, being a hero has a high price to pay to save the day. The unsung heroes of Overwatch have fought many wars, seen defeat, seen battle and death, and experienced things that put their minds, bodies, and hearts to the limits. Sometimes, one has to wonder if it is all worth it in the end._

1

 _Lena and Emily's flat, London, England._

It was getting late. She hadn't made it home in time for supper and Emily wondered if it was to be another night of waiting while it got cold. After a few hours, she ate a portion of her own and, with still no Lena in sight, packed up the remaining dishes to put in the ice box for leftovers. She could always reheat it later if she got hungry. If she ever got home, that is.

As she packed away the lukewarm food, Emily began to worry. It seemed it was like this more often than not lately. She knew Lena Oxton was also the infamous Tracer of Overwatch. She also knew that Overwatch was disbanded and any of their acts, no matter how heroic in nature, were deemed illegal. She accepted that her girlfriend and live-in lover was a vigilante. She wondered what the perky girl had gotten herself into this time.

As she made her way to the sofa cradling a hot cup of cocoa (something she wanted to share with Lena who was MIA), her eyes fell to the cellphone sitting on the coffee table silent and forlorn. Emily could relate. It wasn't like she could call her and see if she was going to make it home anytime soon. She could be out doing God-knows-what God-knows-where and would probably not be in a good position to receive a call or a text.

Emily sighed as she sat down and thought about what Lena would say if she did answer. Probably something like "Sorry, Love, I'm kinda … in a gun fight right now. Be home soon I hope." Then there would be an explosion or some other crazy thing and she'd say "um, Emily, let me call you back … I love you."

Emily shook her head as the crazy thought came and went. Like that would happen. Her mind whirled with all sorts of possibilities, some more unpleasant than others. What if there was an explosion and she was in the middle of it. What if she were out fighting someone like that Widowmaker person she was always talking about and the assassin had hurt her. What if she were dead. Emily felt herself grow cold at that last thought. The creeping feeling up her spine made her physically shiver and the cocoa felt really hot in her hands as her skin turned clammy.

 _No_ , Emily, told herself, _you are worrying over nothing. Lena is a capable pilot and soldier and, as Tracer, she is renowned for her skills in battle. You are overthinking this._

But the feelings didn't go away. She sat down the mug of cocoa, not enjoying the chocolaty goodness against the lump in her throat and the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked at the phone, still dead and silent, and wondered if her lover were somewhere in the same way. Something wet dripped onto her hand, startling her from her morbid thoughts. It took her a moment to realize it was tears she didn't even know she was crying.

She wiped her eyes but it did no good. She cried freely now, squeezing her eyes shut and praying that Lena was safe. Praying with all her heart that Lena was coming home, safe and sound. The last time she had gone off, she had just gone to hear a speech from Tekhartha Mondatta and ended up disappearing for two days. She had run across Widowmaker who almost killed her and broke her coronal accelerator. That scared Emily the most. Not only could Lena have died, but being lost to time and space seemed like a more horrible fate than death. The tears came harder then as well as deep sobs.

She tried to calm herself. She told herself she was being ridiculous. Lena was alright. She would be. She had to be. Emily snatched up the cellphone but stopped herself short of texting. Lena did not need a frightened, silly girlfriend furiously texting her if she were in a tight spot. What if she were hiding and suddenly her phone buzzed or rang and gave away her position? Emily could end up getting her killed. She couldn't live with that guilt.

A troubling thought came upon her and she rose from the sofa as it formed into a very real, very solid, concern. What if she couldn't live like this anymore? She loved Lena. The crazy girl was so bubbly, adorable, and amazing in bed, but she was also a superhero of sorts. She couldn't ask Lena to give up helping people, fighting the good fight, or doing all she could to be there for those who needed her.

 _But she's not here for me_ , Emily thought gloomily. _And I need her. Is it so selfish of me to want her to be there for me and only me? Am I so petty and jealous of the whole world?_

She shouldn't feel this way, she thought. She should be proud of Lena for standing up for what is right even if it was frowned upon by other nations of the world and law enforcement. She looked out the wide window into the cold night and snow, and silently prayed again that Lena was safe.

Emily shook her head and sat back down on the sofa with a huff. She was not going to think about this. This line of thought wasn't healthy and wasn't doing any good. She wiped her tears away and put on a calmer demeanor as she grabbed the remote from the chair arm and flipped on the flat screen television. The picture came up in sharp color and sound immediately showing a fire caused by an explosion at some Omnics facility. The newscaster said that if seemed like a terrorist attack but nothing had been confirmed. It was then that the building exploded again, causing the man with the gray suit and blond comb-over to curse and duck. After a moment, he and the cameraman ran a few meters behind arriving firefighter vehicles before continuing his live report.

Emily flipped the channel and another news cast showed the fire from another angle with the words BREAKING NEWS flashing in a marquee at the bottom of the screen. She clicked to another channel and then another but only saw emergency reports and either newscasters out in the field on location, or discussing the possibility of a terrorist attack with a panel in a studio. She turned the television off and grabbed the cellphone before thinking another thought.

Her thumbs flicked over illuminated digital keys as she sent a frantic and frightened text to Lena. Please tell me you are alright, she typed and pressed SEND. Tears escaped her eyes as she watched the screen of the messenger app with wide eyes. Her words hung there on the screen and she tried to breathe. Finally, the screen turned dark from the screen saver and Emily sobbed. No reply had come.

 _Somewhere in Brentwood, England_

Lena was still sore but no longer bleeding thanks to Mercy. The mission took a rough turn when the bombs started going off. Luckily, the team was able to get out of the facility before the whole thing went down in a fiery heap. Pharah had taken the worst of it. Thanks to her armor, she was relatively unharmed but that didn't stop Mercy from fretting over her. Lena wondered who worried about Fareeha more: Angela or Pharah's mother, Ana.

The punks who caused all the trouble were an anti-Omnics gang of ragtag thugs and young kids hardly old enough for college much less handling the plastic explosives and weapons. They weren't Talon, but they sure caused a mess all the same. The strike team had only managed to subdue four of the crazed gang bangers before one of their friends decided to try and make a martyr of himself. The team didn't know how many, or if any, others had gotten out as they had with the four prisoners in tow. With law enforcement no doubt on their way, Mercy, Pharah, Tracer, and Reinhardt left the troublemakers they had managed to grab and left them at a safe distance from the fires to be picked up anonymously by the cops.

They fled the scene as fast as they could, seeking shelter to tend to any wounds and reached an Overwatch safe house a few kilometers from ground zero of the attack. Mercy was closing up a particularly nasty cut on Lena's leg when a buzzing was heard. Lena dug a cellphone out of her jacket pocket.

"Did you remember to charge that thing?" Angela teased Lena.

"No," Lena sighed. "I wasn't counting on taking this little detour on my way home. Didn't have the chance."

Angela nodded as she wiped off residual blood from Tracer's now healed leg. "These situations pop up without warning. Maybe you should get a pocket charger."

"Maybe I should get a new phone. This model is so 2069," Lena said with a frown as she pushed the screen ON button a couple of times before the poor thing lit up. Yep, the battery was almost dead but not before she saw the alert that she had one message. "Aw bugger," she muttered.

Praying it wouldn't die before she could read it, she swiped her finger across the touch screen and the message popped up.

Please tell me you are alright.

Lena felt the pull of dread and sadness. Emily must have seen the news. Lena hadn't had time to contact her and now the woman must be worried sick trying to find her. She hadn't had a spare moment to call Emily to let her know something had come up. When a counter-attack mission came up, they usually came with little or no warning. Winston had just received the alert from Athena and assembled the team as the gang had broken into the facility. Time was of the essence.

So sorry, Love, Emergency came u-

That's as far as she got before her phone beeped three rapid rings in succession and turned dark.

"Aw, damn it!" Lena groaned aloud causing the rest of the team to jump at the sudden outburst. "That's it," Lena continued her tirade as she shoved the phone into her jacket and checked herself over for anything she had forgotten or any hurts that still needed tending. "I'm going to get a pocket charger _and_ a new phone next chance I get to go out."

"What was it?" Pharah asked as Mercy applied antiseptic to a couple of cuts on the Egyptian's cheek.

"It was a message from Emily," Lena sighed checking the charges on her coronal accelerator. Since she had rested while Mercy was tending to her, the device had recharged enough to where it was almost full capacity. Lena wished her cellphone was that reliable and wondered if Winston could make some tweaks to it like he had the accelerator. "She must be worried sick and the bleeding phone croaked before I could reply back to her."

Reinhardt grunted. "Having a civilian sweetheart can be a tough thing," his normally rough voice said with an unusual soothing tone. "They know you put yourself in danger every day and sometimes, it gets them worried."

"Yes, and now I have to – no, I need to – get to her so she knows I'm alive and in one piece," Lena said.

"Go to her then," Mercy said patting Fareeha's cheek making her blush at the tender affection. Angela and Fareeha weren't in a romantic relationship, but the two women had a bond that Lena always admired. Like sisters only closer.

"We'll report to Winston," Pharah added. "He knows Emily and will understand. Being a civilian, she doesn't have access to all our activities. Leaving her in the dark is necessary but frustrating to her I'm sure."

Lena nodded. "Are you sure we are one hundred percent finished here?"

"Go on," Reinhardt shooed her away with a chuckle and a wink, "Go home and give that beautiful redhead a kiss on the cheek for me."

"You got it," Lena smiled. "Later, loves!"

She ran and zipped with her accelerator as fast as she could, covering distances over rooftops and through alleys until, at last, a familiar front door greeted her.

That sense of dread filled her once more as she noticed the flat was dark. Lena came in quickly and was about to call out for Emily when she saw her. The poor girl was curled up on the sofa clutching her cell phone in her hand. Her brow was creased with worry and exhaustion. Lena sat down gently next to her and brushed the hair from her cheek. Streaks from long shed tears stained her smooth skin and Lena felt her own tears well up as she kissed that cheek. Emily jolted and fearfully let her eyes adjust to Lena's face.

"Hey, baby," Lena murmured softly trying to disarm her girlfriend's anxiety with a lopsided smile. "I'm so sorry. I didn't have time to..."

The words rushed out in puff of air as Emily pulled Tracer into her arms and hugged her tight. She didn't even care about the coronal accelerator in the way or how it uncomfortably pressed into their chests. She held Lena close and started crying softly. Lena wrapped her arms around the redhead and soothed her as best she could without words. She felt her shoulders tremble and the tears wetting her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Love," Lena whispered. "Really, it happened so fast and I didn't have time to contact you. I really need a new phone."

"That phone is so 2079," Emily said quietly and the women chuckled, still in each other's arms.

"Right?"

"Come on," Emily said. "Let's get you to bed. Now that you're home, I can hold you and sleep peacefully."

"We both can," Lena said as she shed her jacket and unstrapped the accelerator.

"So what happened?" Emily asked sitting on the bed while Lena undressed. "Or is it, like, classified?"

"No no," Lena said waving off concerns. "Some blokes with bloody Halloween makeup and stolen military weapons decided to take out their hate on an Omnics facility. Low key, mostly harmless, bollocks."

"It didn't look that harmless on the news," Emily said quietly. She remembered the fear not knowing if Lena was hurt or dead because of that fire. She watched as Lena pulled off her jeans. They had a new rip on the side and what looked like blood dried on the jagged tear. That made Emily worry even more. Lena hadn't had time to even change into her usual Tracer uniform before rushing off to handle some thugs with guns and bombs. She wasn't even wearing her goggles or body armor pieces.

"Oh, Winston assembled a small team and called us to the location," Lena replied not noticing the tone of Emily's voice. "Reinhardt, Mercy, and Pharah happened to be in the area."

"Oh," Emily said. "Lucky that your mates were nearby. I wonder what would have happened if they hadn't been."

Lena noticed her tone that time and turned to the woman. "Oh, Love. You know I wouldn't go in alone if it were something I couldn't handle. You know me better than that. I may be a bit reckless at times, but I'm not stupid."

"I know you aren't," Emily sighed and held out her arms. Lena closed the gap and kissed her tenderly.

The kiss deepened before Emily pulled back slightly. "I'm so glad you're home," she whispered. "I get so worried about you."

"I know you do, baby," Lena said affectionately.

Their kiss continued and soon any feelings of exhaustion were forgotten as heat built between them. The two lovers crawled into the bed slowly while lips explored and clothing was peeled off.

Emily made love to Lena, taking the time to feel her and taste her. She was alive, whole, warm, and here and Emily wanted to hold on to that feeling for as long as she could. Her worry and fears melted as Lena's mouth worked her magic on various, tender parts of her body in return.

They lay in each others arms afterwards and Emily listened as Lena fell asleep in her arms. As she felt her warm body close to hers, breathing steadily, peaceful and blissful, Emily's thoughts returned to where they had quieted from earlier. She was in her arms, in their bed, safe and sound. For now, she was here. But how long until, one day, she wouldn't be. When would she zoom off to some rescue or whatever and not come back? Would Overwatch even be allowed to let Emily know Lena was gone? They were underground and had to keep secret. They weren't even supposed to exist.

Then something else came to mind. Overwatch had enemies. Tracer had enemies. One in particular that always troubled Emily. Lena didn't know much about Widowmaker, but what she did know or find out, she had shared with Emily. Lena was drawn to her. She felt sorry for her because Widowmaker wasn't an assassin by choice, she had said. She was once the wife of a very influential Overwatch member and was kidnapped and brainwashed into a cold blooded killer. Lena had a soft spot for the woman because of the terrible things that had been forced on her.

She was also completely crushed after what happened in King's Row and Emily had felt a little jealous at the reaction and hurt Lena had felt. Lena would never cheat on her, she knew this for sure, but she also knew Lena's heart. Widowmaker had broken Lena's heart and they weren't even lovers. Emily wasn't a naive little girl. She saw something in Tracer when she talked about Widowmaker that was more than rivalry or opposition. Emily had never actually met Widowmaker – a fact she was more than happy about – but wondered if the woman was truly as evil and dangerous as rumored or if she was really a victim as Lena seemed to secretly perceive.

Emily had always been wary while out and about for fear that, one day, one of Tracer's enemies would try to grab her and force her to do things like Widowmaker had been reprogrammed to do against her will. What if Tracer had managed to really do more than annoy the notorious woman and Emily became a target. It made sense. That's what Talon did. When they couldn't get to Gérard Lacroix they got his beautiful, innocent wife.

One of Tracer's enemies could easily try to use Emily to get to her. Either that, or kill her outright. The thought made Emily cold and she snuggled up to Lena. Tears fell from her eyes once again. She didn't know what to do. She knew that Lena being Tracer was a necessity for the good of all, but it also put her and the ones she loved in danger. Emily wasn't a soldier. She knew some martial arts for regular self-defense but against someone like a genetic engineered assassin with a sniper rifle, somehow knowing how to throw someone over your shoulder effectively seemed woefully inadequate.

She kissed Lena's cheek softly and felt tears run down her face as Lena murmured some sweet nothing in her sleep at the touch.

 _I can't do this anymore_ , Emily thought as the tears fell. _She has so many to protect that I am only holding her back. She has a whole world to help without one silly woman to worry about_.

With that, Emily snuggled closer to Lena and cried herself to sleep.

2

 _Lena and Emily's flat, London, England_

The next morning, Lena woke to find the bed empty. She stretched and padded to the water closet. After doing her morning business, brushing her teeth, and attempting to brush her unruly spiky hair, Lena threw on a pair of warm, comfortable yoga pants and a T shirt before walking into the living room. Emily was sitting on the sofa holding a cup of coffee.

Lena was about to say good morning, but paused. Emily wasn't actually drinking the cup of coffee. She looked as if she were lost in thought and sad. There were bags under her eyes and it looked as if she had been crying. Quietly, Lena approached her girlfriend. It wasn't until she gently sat down next to her and slipped her arm around her shoulders that Emily finally realized Lena was there.

"Oh," She said startled. She sat down her coffee mug and smiled before kissing Lena quickly on the lips. "Good morning," she said.

Lena knew Emily was trying to smile but it didn't reach her eyes. Something was bothering her deeply. She cupped Emily's face and ran her thumbs gently over the woman's pale cheeks.

"Emmy," she said softly, "what's the matter, Love? Have you been crying?"

Emily started to deny it and keep the happy smile on her face, but then her eyes, welled up and she started sobbing. Lena gasped at the sudden ferocity of her lover's sadness and threw her arms around the poor woman.

"I don't know what to do," Emily cried. "I'm so scared and I don't know what to do. I … I just can't do it anymore, Lena."

Lena stroked her hair and tried to soothe her. "Can't do what anymore, Love?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"I love you so much but I can't do it anymore," Emily sobbed.

Lena was confused and started to really worry. Emily could do nothing but cry. "Oh, Emmy," Lena said quietly, holding her love close, "whatever is wrong you can tell me. I'm here for you."

Lena waited until Emily stopped crying and regain her composure. After wiping away the remnants of her tears, Emily took a deep breath.

"This is very hard for me, alright?" she started. "I have been going over this in my head most of last night and all this morning. Please let me get this all out before you say anything."

Dread coiled in Lena's stomach and she pulled her feet up under her on the sofa. She knew what was going to be said. She didn't want to believe it and held her breath as she waited for the words she knew and feared were coming.

"I love you, Lena. I love you with all my heart," Emily said looking away and gathering up her courage. "But I don't think we should be together anymore."

Lena was stunned. She closed her eyes as the words echoed in her mind and she felt her heart breaking. The tears slipped down her cheeks but she was determined not to cry out loud. It obviously had taken all the courage Emily had to muster to have this talk with her and she wouldn't be selfish. There had to be a logical explanation for this and crying would only prolong the inevitable.

"Why?" Lena asked softly. "What did I do?"

"I don't know how to really explain it," Emily replied.

"Is it the coronal accelerator?" Lena asked. "I know it's can be a pain in the arse and I know it sucks for me to have to wear it or keep it close to me within ten meters. If it's too much of a handicap, I can have Winston get with Mercy and see if we can make some nanomachines with the technology or something. I'm sorry I'm not a normal girl and I have to have a machine to -"

"Oh my God, Lena, no," Emily turned to her with a pained, shocked expression on her face. "Are you taking the piss?! Do you really think I would be so shallow as to break up with you because of that?!"

Lena was so dismayed she sputtered, all thoughts of tears forgotten. "Then why?" she asked.

Emily took a deep breath and put her face in her palms. She rocked back and forth for a moment before looking up again. "I guess its Overwatch," she finally replied quietly.

Lena sat for a moment, letting that settle. "Oh Emily," she said. "You aren't thinking that I'm cheating on you with one of the girls do you?"

"Ugh" Emily said, standing up from the sofa. "No! Damn it, I don't think that." She paced a few steps while running her hand through her hair.

"Emmy," Lena said. "I know this is hard for you, it's hard for me right now to hear, but obviously this is something serious if you are breaking up with me. Just spill it. If I'm doing something that is pushing you to this, just let me know. Out with it."

Emily sat back down and took Lena's hands in hers. Her eyes were welling up again. "I can't take you being an Overwatch agent anymore, Lena. Just … just hear me out on this, alright?"

Lena nodded and Emily took a deep breath. She looked around the room, thinking of the words to say.

"Overwatch is pretty much a vigilante group of ex-soldiers," Emily said looking Lena in the eyes. "That means, you do all sorts of dodgy, dangerous things and you aren't even supposed to be doing them. That means you have no support or back up and if something goes tits up, you can get killed or imprisoned for just trying to save the world from another Omnic Crisis or some terrorist twit organization murdering people or blowing up the bloody planet. You are often called to emergencies and missions that are not only completely nutters at times, but _illegal_ no matter how many lives are saved or evil schemes are thwarted. Meanwhile, I am here, at our home, cooking dinner, teaching my ballet classes, doing my online stocks, and, most of all, here alone just hoping and praying you are going to make it back home in one piece or at all. I have sat up many nights, waiting for you, crying and worrying my guts out."

Emily cupped Lena's cheek. "I just can't take it anymore," she said sadly. "You are out saving a world that rejects your efforts and making the woman, who loves you more than anything in this ungrateful world, sick with anxiety over where you are and if you are even still breathing."

"I'll quit then," Lena said with a determined look. The tears she had been holding back flooded down her cheeks and she started going hysterical which she had promised herself she wouldn't do. "The world can piss off! You're right, it doesn't give a damn about me, but _you do_! You're all that matters to me, Emmy!"

Emily only shook her head. "You and I both know you can't do that."

"Yes, I can!" Lena said. It was her turn to stand up and pace. Her tears and sadness morphed into bitterness. "I bloody well can! I mean, look what I've already been through. I got buggered in a failed experiment that messed up my molecules so I have to wear a stupid machine on my chest just to exist on the same plane of existence with everyone else! I can barely do normal things because of that. Everyone knows who I am but I'm not allowed to be Tracer because of some stupid legislature, made by some corrupt politicians, what made Overwatch, the _one group_ of _competent people_ , illegal after we risked everything to save their ungrateful arses from being demolished by advanced, mind controlled, robots _that they helped create_!"

Emily said nothing and Lena was practically panting with pent-up frustration. She gasped slightly as Lena fell to her knees in front of her and pulled her into her arms.

"I'll do it," Lena sobbed. "I'll do it for you, Emily."

"Oh, Lena," Emily said softly as she bent down and kissed Lena's head. "It's not just me worrying about _your_ safety. You haven't even considered _my_ safety."

Lena looked up and met Emily's eyes. "What do you mean?"

"What would you do if I got killed?" Emily sighed. "What if you came home one day and, say, Widowmaker, for instance, had killed me to get back at you for opposing her and that terrorist organization she got brainwashed into joining? What would you do?"

"I'd hunt that daft cow down," Lena said so fiercely that Emily blinked a few times in surprise.

"And if you hunted her down and killed her, would it bring me back?"

The fire fled from Lena's eyes and washed down her face in tears. "No," Lena said reluctantly.

"And speaking of Widowmaker," Emily added, "what if the same thing happened to me? Didn't you tell me she was once the wife of one of Overwatch's leaders before Talon kidnapped, tortured, and conditioned her into a sleeper agent to kill him?"

Emily knew that sparked something deep in Lena. Her lover closed her eyes and lay her head in Emily's lap.

"I'm not breaking up with you because I don't love you anymore," Emily said softly. "Far from it. I love you too much to stay. You can't be worried about me and I can't be worried about you all the time. It will only hold you back from what you need to do – what you have to do – and I don't want to be that way. You need someone who can back you up, not just in spirit. You need someone fighting alongside you and not sitting in a flat hoping you come home. Don't you see, Lena? I'm not the right girl for you. I love you and we can always be close. I just don't think we should be lovers anymore. Understand?"

"It hurts," Lena admitted. "Please don't tell me we can be close only if you aren't going to see or talk to me anymore."

"Of course not, Love," Emily said. "Just because I won't be your girlfriend anymore doesn't mean I'm not still here for you. I will always love you."

"I should move out I guess," Lena said with a sigh. "I can use one of the Overwatch safe houses."

"No, you don't have to," Emily said. "I can move back with Mum until I get my own place."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Emily said. "I don't want you to live at some safe house. Besides, I don't think Winston would enjoy having a civilian, who isn't supposed to even know about Overwatch, coming and visiting a safe house. Might bring unwanted attention."

"Ugh, you're right," Lena said.

Emily leaned in and held Lena tight. "It will be alright. This hurts me too but it's for the best," she said.

3

 _London, England 2 months later_

They did still chat and see each other. Emily had only stayed with her mum for a month before she was able to get another flat. This was smaller than the one she shared with Lena and was a little closer to the building where she taught ballet.

Lena was always happy to see her of course, but Emily could tell the break up was still fresh in her mind. She was hurting too but knew, in her heart of hearts, it would just take time to heal. This was for the best. They were still close, still talked, still saw each other for lunch or dinner sometimes. Lena had even come by to see the girls of the ballet class perform. Emily could still see the sadness in her eyes even when she smiled and joked in typical Lena fashion. She hoped that Lena would find someone who could give her what she really needed.

She had just finished up some of the paperwork and paid some of the bills online at the ballet studio. With one last check around to make sure everything was locked up and the main lights were out, Emily carried out her bag and locked the main door behind her. It was still cold out and so she pulled her coat tighter before digging in her bag. A bittersweet sense of relief washed over her as she pulled out the dark green scarf. Lena had given her this scarf last Christmas and Emily held it to her face for a nostalgic moment before wrapping it around her neck and shoulders.

She wondered as she walked home, how Lena was really doing. The proud little woman would never admit she was sad or hurting. Emily didn't want her to be sad. She did all she could to make sure Lena knew she was still alive and there for her, even if they couldn't be lovers. Emily took a deep breath and watched it drift away in a small steam cloud as she exhaled. Lena was a beautiful and wonderful girl and she would find someone who would complement her better. Someone who could keep up with her. It would just take time.

She was nearing her flat when she felt a sharp pain in her neck. She dropped her bag and immediately reached for whatever had stung her. It was way too cold for wasps or bees. The sudden pain turned into a numbness that spread through her body, making her feel like she had had one too many pints at the pub. She swayed a little and tried to stay upright. There was no blood, but she pulled a small dart from the back of her neck. Confused, she felt her vision tunnel a bit and the need to sleep was overpowering.

This is a tranquilizer dart, Emily thought groggily. That was something you'd see in some spy film. Emily's eyes widened in horror as she realized what that could only mean. She started to run but her balance was off. She tripped and stumbled towards her door.

The stairs proved to be too much as her vision started to black out and her equilibrium was off kilter. She felt herself falling until she was caught by strong but slender arms. Emily lifted her head and tried to focus of the face of the woman, for it was indeed a woman, who had caught her. She was about to ask for help, but the words died on her lips as she saw two golden eyes staring coldly at her from a pale, blue face.

"Oh God," Emily whispered, trembling in fear as she realized who held her. "Oh God, no! Please, please don't hurt me. Please, don't kill me … please!" she begged. Her body was growing limp and her eyes could barely stay open.

Emily's vision started to fade and tears rolled down her cheeks but not before she heard a husky, French accented voice whisper, "I am not going to hurt you, _Mon Amie_. I just want to talk."

The French woman held her tight, almost tenderly, as Emily let darkness envelop her.

It was a little while later when Emily started to rouse. Her mouth felt dry and her vision was blurry. She blinked a couple of times as her flat came into focus. She was lying on her sofa. The television was off but the lone table lamp on the end table was on, illuminating the room with soft light. Emily say up slowly and felt her head spin. She was running her hands over her face and rubbing her eyes when the felt something cold and wet touch her hand.

She jolted before she realized it was a cold bottle of water and was about to reach for it when she realized who was holding the bottle to her. She scrambled to the side of the sofa away and took a deep breath to scream her lungs out but the lithe assassin was as quick as the spider of her namesake and covered her mouth with a cold hand.

"Shhh," the woman hissed. "No screaming, _Mon Amie_. The hour is not late but I do not want the neighbors to be disturbed and ruin our meeting, _non_?"

Emily whimpered and her captor sighed. "I will not hurt you, I swear to you. It is not my intention to do any harm to you at all, _comprenez-vous_?"

Emily nodded slowly and the woman slowly moved her hand away before offering her the bottle of water once more. Emily took it and opened it while keeping her eyes on the mysterious femme fatale. _So, this is Widowmaker_ , Emily thought. She was a lot taller than she expected but maybe it was a slight illusion made by her slender but curvaceous build. She was everything Lena had described about her but seeing her in the flesh made her seem that much more dangerous and real. To think Lena had fought with this woman, traded blows and bullets both, made Emily respect her ex-girlfriend that much more. Widowmaker sat on a footstool nearby so she could face Emily directly. Her movements were graceful and quiet as if everything she did was calculated and precise.

"If you don't intend on hurting me or killing me, what is it you want?" Emily asked after she had drunk enough water to access her situation and whet her throat enough to speak without fear lacing her voice.

"Do you know who I am?" the woman asked with a silky, accented voice that Emily even found strangely alluring.

"Yes," Emily replied. When she didn't elaborate, the woman arched one eyebrow and a hint of a snide smile twitched at her full lips. "You're Widowmaker," she added hesitantly.

Widowmaker seemed pleased by this and crossed her legs demurely before folding her hands over her knee with perfect poise and started slightly kicking her foot. " _Oui_ ," she replied. "So I see _mon chérie_ has told you about me, _non_?"

Emily blinked. The switching from French to English had her doing some quick translations. Being a ballet teacher, she knew some conversational French. Luckily, Widowmaker seemed to only use common French words and was not saying anything she couldn't interpret.

"She told me only a few things," Emily admitted. "You are rather a mystery to her and anyone else. I assume with your … occupation … being largely unknown is preferred."

Widowmaker nodded. "Normally yes," she purred and looked away as if thinking about something. She sat like that, kicking her foot, for a few, quiet moments.

Emily drank her water not only because she was thirsty, but because it gave her something to keep from shaking. She was terrified and she knew Widowmaker could sense that. She thought if she kept Widowmaker talking, it would maybe extend her life expectancy.

She didn't notice a gun and the woman was dressed in a fashionable black shirt under a long coat, tight pants, and ankle boots. Her hair was also in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. Honestly, she looked like she were going out to a nice dinner than ready to kill her rival's ex-girlfriend. That was something at least.

"What all do you know about me?" she asked Emily quietly. "What has Lena told you about me at least?"

Emily blinked. "You know her name?" she asked shocked.

Widowmaker looked at her with an amused smile. " _Oui_ ," she replied. "Lena Oxton, Caucasian female, brown eyes and hair, age twenty six, youngest Overwatch member even before Overwatch was 'disbanded', 1.7 meters tall, approximate weight of 50 kilograms, blood type A, and last known base of operations: London, England."

Emily's eyes widened and her mouth gaped. She didn't even know all of that information by heart.

"I know many things about her," Widowmaker said with a sultry chuckle before looking her straight in the eye. "Emily," she added.

Emily closed her mouth and felt pure terror grip her. This woman was much more dangerous than she originally thought. She watched as Widowmaker sat up straight again with her perfect poise and remembered she had asked a question.

"She, um..." Emily cleared her throat. "She said you were an assassin. You work for a terrorist organization named … Talon, I think? I'm not really able to recall many details at this moment, you understand."

Widowmaker remained motionless except for those golden eyes, so beautiful and yet so cold. Those eyes blinked once. It was the only response she gave before speaking softly. "She must have told you much more than that, _mon Amie_. You haven't stopped trembling since you woke up. I realize this is quite frightening for you, but I promise you: I will not harm you in any way. I came to talk to you."

Emily nodded and took a calming breath. Widowmaker cocked her head as if studying her.

"Would it be better if I made you some tea?" the French woman asked.

Emily was taken aback by that. "No, that won't be necessary, really," she replied. "English don't really drink as much tea as people think."

She took a drink of her water and tried to recall everything Lena had told her. "She said that, although you are a sniper assassin, you were once married to one of the leaders of Overwatch and that, this organization, Talon, kidnapped you and, like, did all sorts of experiments on you and wiped your memory. She told me you became Widowmaker because of that and that you never miss a shot, and that you are one, if not the most, deadliest and most feared snipers in the world."

"And?"

"And," Emily blushed a bit, "she may have told me you wear this … um … skin tight purple uniform with these high heeled boots and your hair up in a," she circled her finger around the top of her head, "high ponytail that she says swings around like a whip."

Emily was surprised at the huff of actual laughter that escaped from Widowmaker. Her smile actually brightened her whole face as she did so and, with that small gesture, Emily understood a little more why Lena seemed to be drawn to this woman. It also made Emily feel a twinge of recognition.

"Did you really kill your own husband?" Emily asked her in a hushed whisper.

She expected Widowmaker to be cold or even proud of such a kill, knowing her reputation. Instead, she saw the woman's face grow sad. Those golden eyes, so void of emotion before, burned brighter with a hint of unshed tears. The beautiful smile faded, much to Emily's dismay.

" _Oui_ ," Widowmaker replied. She didn't sound happy or proud of that achievement at all. She sounded hurt. "I was completely under their control and they had me kill him. I always knew his name, but it wasn't until recently, the name Gérard Lacroix meant anything to me other than another target to be eliminated."

Emily suddenly leaned forward and seemed to examine Widowmaker. The assassin narrowed her eyes at the strange display of scrutiny. Suddenly, Emily's eyes widened and she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Oh, my God," Emily said in a muffled breath. "Did you say your husband's name was Lacroix? You … you really don't know who you are do you?"

Widowmaker blinked rapidly. "I am getting some of my memories back despite the conditioning Talon performed on me," she explained, not following the strange reaction. "What else has Lena told you?"

"Not Lena," Emily said and shook her head as if she were mesmerized. "I had to get a good look at your face to be sure but … oh, my God, you're Amélie Lacroix!"

Widowmaker was stunned. That name had emerged in her memories. It was her turn to gape as Emily seemed to lose the fear that had hung on her like a cloak since they met and turned it into excitement and awe.

"I saw you dance!" Emily continued. "It was a few years ago. I was just a kid back then, but I remember I got to go to a special performance of Swan Lake by the Ballet Magnifique. They were in London and my class had been asked to watch them perform as inspiration. You, Amélie Lacroix, stole my breath away at how beautiful and graceful you were as Odette and Odile. You were my idol."

"I," Widowmaker looked startled. Her memories raced and she recalled costumes, positions, practices, and also performances on stage, applause, and roses being thrown to her. It was like fragments of a dream, but they were there. "I was a ballerina?"

"You were, yes," Emily said and, to Widowmaker – correction – Amélie's surprise, the woman moved closer to her. "Lena also told me that you move like a dancer and that, in the scrapes you two have had, she said she's never seen anyone move like you do. I guess we know why."

Widowmaker sat considering that for a moment. She sighed. "Lena would notice something like that, wouldn't she?"

"She notices little things," Emily said mirroring Amélie's contemplative stare. "Its part of what makes her … her."

Amélie sat with Emily saying nothing for a few moments. Finally, Emily politely cleared her throat.

"Not that I'm not glad to help you regain some of your memories or deeply thrilled to meet my idol," Emily said quietly, "and, to be perfectly honest, a little sad and terrified that you are a world renown assassin now, You didn't come here to talk about _you_ , did you?"

" _Non, mon amie_ ," Amélie replied. "I'm here to talk to you about Lena." She paused and looked at Emily. This time her eyes reflected a mixture of concern and something unknown as she addressed her rival's ex-girlfriend.

"Does she ever tell you anything about missions?" Amélie asked.

Emily shook her head. "No," she said holding up her hands. "Outside of the occasional 'I have a funny story about one of the missions I was on recently', she never tells me any details, or anything remotely resembling a debriefing, of any and all Overwatch activities she's a part of. I already worried about her for even going on those missions, so she didn't want something to fuel that fire. Also, there's the little problem of Overwatch's activities seen as illegal vigilantism by almost everyone. If I had any knowledge and didn't divulge it to the proper authorities like a good little civilian, I'd be thrown in the clink for obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting faster than you could say 'bang to rights'."

"Well then," Amélie said nodding. "Let me tell you a _not_ funny story about one of the missions we were on recently. It happened two weeks ago. I was sent to a location in Spain..."

4

 _Carmona, Spain Two weeks ago_

The air was dry and hot as Widowmaker danced around the rooftops to the target area. She lowered the infravisor that adorned her head and looked at the red outlines of the men inside and outside the building. They had arranged to meet in a rather large villa and both of the weapons dealers had their hired muscle. Unfortunately for them, both targets were to be eliminated and the weapon archetype offered, as well as the millions of clean credits, were to be retrieved for Talon. Looking at all the large red forms, Widowmaker smiled. This was going to be fun.

Widowmaker pressed a button on the left side of her visor. "I am in position," she quietly said to Sombra, who was monitoring her progress via satellite.

"OK _Chica_ ," Sombra announced. "You are free to proceed in 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1..."

On the count of one, Widowmaker burst into action. Her Widow's Kiss fired in short bursts of air as the long range bullets took out the three men who were lazily patrolling the grounds in the courtyard. As the last man fell, Widowmaker aimed and fired her grappling hook to a secure point on the far rooftop where her main targets were located. The hook took out another man on that roof before fastening to the wall and pulling her into a tight swing then rapidly retracting her up the wall. As she made her ascent, she turned and took out two more men who had hustled out of the building's entrance to find out what took out their buddies.

The thrill of the battle sang in her veins, making her run faster, and take shots with ease. Once she reached the roof, one of the guards was quick enough to fire his gun once. Widowmaker was already sliding towards him across the roof, too low for his bullet to find its target. The sharp stilettos of her boots ripped flesh as she knocked the man off his feet. Using the momentum, Widowmaker fired three burst shots up into the man as his body sailed over her. He was dead before he landed.

The assassin let her adrenaline carry her to new heights of euphoria as she smashed through the door leading up to the roof, taking out another guard and sending him into the other two marching up the stairs. She followed them down rapidly firing bullets into them as they tumbled helplessly. She then jumped the railing down a story to land on another guard's shoulders. As he went down, consequentially providing her with a soft landing, Widowmaker then put a bullet in the face of the two guards who were too slow to react to her entrance. She calmly reloaded and put a bullet in the man she had just stomped into the ground like an afterthought as she walked away from his prone form.

It seemed the rest of the guards were trying to be smart. Widowmaker flattened herself outside of a doorway. It opened into a two meter hallway that had one closed door at the end. Snapping her infravisor down once again, she saw four men grouped just on the other side of the door with their guns drawn at the ready. She also noticed her two main targets huddled behind a desk opposite the door and the meat shield they foolishly thought would keep them safe. Widowmaker chuckled cruelly.

She deployed her grappling hook like a whip to break the door. By the time the men had tried to react to the door exploding, Widowmaker had fired a green canister from the side of her gauntlet which hissed out a thick vicious gas within seconds. The great thing about her Widow Venom was that is served as a smoke screen and strong chemical agent.

As the guards choked and coughed, blinded by the thickness and the havoc the Venom did to their eyes and lungs, Widowmaker held a deep breath while running and took out the room as quick as four regular heartbeats. She looked around with her infravisor protecting her eyes and saw no moving forms. Seeing nothing left to kill in the room, she picked up the case that contained the archetype weapon and the other containing the credits. After opening both cases to see that they had what she came for, she strapped Widow's Kiss to her back and used the hard cases to smash the nearby window.

Once on the ground, she pressed the button on her visor to connect with Sombra. "Mission accomplished," she said straightforward. "Payload is retrieved, targets eliminated. Requesting pick up."

"Rendezvous point is half a click due west," Sombra replied. " _Muy bien, Chica_. You beat your last record."

Widowmaker huffed. "They weren't even a challenge," she sighed. " _À bientôt_."

She heard the communication click off and went to retrieve the cases off the ground when she heard someone blow a loud, shrill whistle. Just as she looked up at where she thought she heard the noise, a flash of blue caught her eye just as a foot found her stomach. The wind was knocked out of her momentarily but Widowmaker rolled with the kick and skid to a halt a short distance from a familiar woman in orange with spiky brown hair.

Widowmaker smiled inwardly. No one could get her blood pumping like Tracer. Although she knew one day their dance would end, she actually found she enjoyed the give and take with the annoying Brit. She hadn't seen her in a few weeks and Widowmaker had to admit she had missed her.

" _Bonjour, mon chérie_ ," Widowmaker said with a smirk.

Tracer said nothing, she just pulled out her pulse pistols and started blasting. Widowmaker was too fast, as usual, and dodged to the side while pulling Widow's Kiss from her back. She returned fire and Tracer flitted out of range, flying high and above to try and rain down her shots. Widowmaker rolled out of the way just as Tracer landed a few yards behind her.

They traded blows, jumped, and dodged almost as if they were playing a game of tag. Widowmaker secretly loved sparring with Tracer. It wasn't until they had stopped, each on the other side of the courtyard behind makeshift cover, reloading their weapons, that Widowmaker noticed something was wrong.

She and Tracer had fought many times, but there was no thrill in this. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was missing. Then she stopped and listened. There was no sound. It was quiet. The only sounds were the wind cutting through the courtyard. That's when she understood: there was no banter. Tracer hadn't once taunted her, teased her, or whooped or hollered. It was like she had suddenly grown serious.

Tracer suddenly appeared zipping through the air and right at Widowmaker. She let out a primal scream and tackled the sniper to the ground. The two women tumbled until, finally, Widowmaker gained the upper hand. Lena was panting, lying on her back on the ground, her arms out at her sides as Widowmaker knelt over her, Widow's Kiss aimed at her head.

Widowmaker sneered and was about to say something taunting when she saw Tracer's face. The woman showed no fear or anger. She, instead, took a deep breath and closed her eyes in resignation. The smirk on Widowmaker's face disappeared.

"What are you doing?" Widowmaker asked. Now it was her turn to be in shock. This was so unlike Tracer. She wasn't even rewinding time to get away.

"Now's your chance to off me," Tracer said quietly. A smile played at her lips and a look of peace and surrender came over her face. Widowmaker felt her mask slip further. What was going on? Had she broken her worse than she thought? She knew that Tracer was hurt but this felt like she was just giving up. "Go ahead, this is what you want, innit?"

Widowmaker was so stunned she almost dropped Widow's Kiss. The realization of what Tracer was asking of her gave her chills. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she slowly stood and pulled her rifle away.

Tracer's face screwed up in confusion and she opened her eyes. "What are you waiting for? You got me right here! Shoot me!"

Widowmaker covered her mouth and backed away slowly.

"Where are you going?" Tracer called after her. Her sweet face distorted with some inner anguish Widowmaker didn't understand. It frightened her.

"I'm right here!" Tracer yelled as she sat up. "Do it! Isn't this what you've wanted?"

" _Non_!" Widowmaker screamed back. "You don't have the faintest _idea_ of what I want, you foolish girl!"

With that, she turned and ran. She grabbed her payload and grappled over the wall. Tears burned in her eyes as she heard Tracer yelling and cursing after her.

"Get back here!" she heard her yelling. "Don't you run away from me! GET BACK HERE, YOU BITCH!"

5

 _Emily's flat Present day_

"But I didn't turn back," Amélie said quietly. "The more I heard her screaming at me to come back and kill her, the faster I ran. I kept expecting her to chase after me or use her accelerator to warp faster to catch up to me, but, thankfully, she did not."

Widowmaker was surprised as Emily handed her some tissues. She took one and realized she had tears running down her face.

"I knew she wasn't taking this well," Emily said. "I knew but I didn't think it had gone that badly."

"I watched her after that," Widowmaker said while drying her eyes. "I watched her go to that pub on the north side and try to get drunk. She had no spark to her anymore."

"You were stalking her?" Emily asked shocked.

" _Oui_ ," Widowmaker replied shrugging. "She was surprisingly not hard to find once I came to London. I had to find out what had happened and do whatever I could to fix this. One night, she was drinking heavily at home and crying. When she finally passed out, I made my way into her apartment and saw her clutching a photo."

Emily shivered visibly. "I know you meant well, but stalking and sneaking into her flat is creepy, Amélie."

Amélie smiled slightly hearing Emily address her by her real name. " _Pardon_ ," she said. "I did not think of those things. It is not like I could just walk up and knock on her door."

Emily rubbed the back of her neck remembering the tranquilizer dart. "I guess you're right," she said. "I can guess what the photograph was."

Amélie nodded. "It was a picture of her, smiling and happy and making goofy faces with a particularly lovely red haired woman. I scanned the photo and went onto the internet to cross source who you were."

"That's how you found me," Emily sighed.

"You are Emily Smith and you teach ballet," Widowmaker confirmed. "The first thing to pop up when I researched your picture was your dance studio."

"Well, now you also know how I knew who you were," Emily said. "I mean, who you _really_ are."

The two women sat for a moment in silence. Amélie reached out slowly and touched Emily's hand. It was surprisingly tender and a little frightening at the same time. Her skin was cold as if she had been outside in the snow without mittens. It made Emily shiver involuntarily. Amélie sensed this and took her hand away before speaking.

"Why did you leave her?" she asked. "She obviously loves you and I have seen you two still communicate. You still love her as well."

Emily ignored the fact Widowmaker had obviously not just stalked Lena but both of them. She sighed and looked at the blue-skinned woman sitting on her footstool with a confused and genuine look on her face.

"Ironically, it's because of this," she said while waving her hand about to indicate the situation. "You see, Lena is a great girl … wonderful in many ways … but she is also Tracer and Tracer is an agent of Overwatch. That means she goes out on missions that are not sanctioned or even legally allowed. Most of the time, these missions are dangerous mercenary situations that could get her killed. I was always worried she would get hurt or, worse, she wouldn't come home at all. Then there's what's happening right now..."

Amélie blinked and Emily took a deep breath.

"I will tell you the same thing I told her and, please understand, I do not mean to offend you in any way," Emily said looking up at the ceiling to gather her courage. "I know that being involved in the things she and Overwatch are involved with can lead to enemies. Powerful enemies. Enemies that will not take too kindly to their plans being shut down by a ragtag group of world-saving veterans of the Omnic Crisis. Enemies that will do whatever is necessary to shut down people who oppose them by any means."

"Like brainwash a man's wife into killing her husband and then genetically altering her body and mind to become a psychotic assassin that they can control?" Amélie supplied. She sighed. " _Oui_ , I can see that being a concern from a personal point of view."

Emily nodded. "Forgive me," she said quietly. "Lena told me all she knew but I didn't know the details and that frightened me even more. I am sorry. I can't imagine what that must be like especially after you've told me that their conditioning is wearing off."

"It is frightening," Amélie said. "I remember things that make me question everything about being who I am as opposed to being who I was."

"Right," Emily said. "That would be the absolute worst case scenario I told her. The other thing would be if someone killed me or kidnapped me to get to her. I mean, you were able to find me in a short amount of time and could have shot me with a bullet instead of a tranquilizer tonight. I would have been dead before I reached my front door and never would have seen you coming. So you see, I did it not only for her safety, but my own."

Amélie sighed. "I know it must be awful and difficult from that angle, but you _have_ to go back to her," she said shaking her head. Emily felt like the assassin was almost pleading with her. "She is not herself, she has lost her will to live. She needs you."

Emily felt her tears welling as she looked at Amélie. "I can't," she said quietly holding back the tears. "I hate to say it but I'm not strong enough. Besides, why do you care so much about...?"

Her tears stopped and her eyes went wide. Amélie felt uncomfortably nervous and couldn't meet Emily's eyes.

"You're in love with her," Emily whispered.

Widowmaker still couldn't bring herself to look at Emily. " _Impossible_ ," Amélie said. "I cannot feel any emotion except the rush when I kill. I can't love. Besides, I find Tracer to be an annoyance and nothing more."

"Oh, bollocks!" Emily said with a sudden burst of bravery that had Amélie looking at her in shock. "I know Lena well enough to know that her wit and charm is downright addictive. She may be annoying but it's in a very good way. She's annoying enough to get you to smile know matter what. She's annoying enough that you can't stop thinking about her. She's annoying enough to get under your skin, drive you nutters, and steal your heart before you even realize she's the one who did it. I know because that's how it happened to me."

" _Non_ , you are wrong," Amélie said shaking her head.

"Really?" Emily said with a smirk and an inquisitive eyebrow. "Then riddle me this, _Widowmaker_ ," she emphasized the woman's call sign with enough mocking tone that Amélie narrowed her eyes, but Emily went on with no fear. "How is it the world's most notorious and deadliest assassin, who is such a crack shot, can't hit and kill a single, loud-mouthed British bird? Who gets off on fighting with her? That sees it as so much fun, it short circuited her brain from extensive torture, and God-knows-what-else those Talon bastards did to you, and actually made you _feel something_ again? Made you step away several times, including two moments I know for a fact about, where you had her dead to rights in the crosshairs and yet you _still_ didn't pull that trigger, did ya?"

Emily paused her little tirade of hard questions to really let them sink in before leaning closer and bravely looking Widowmaker right in the eyes. "And why, exactly, would that be again?" she asked quietly and deliberately.

"I can't" Amélie said with a sad sigh. "But you can. You had her … still have her if you would take her back. I can't be her lover."

"You could if you wanted," Emily said. "You don't honestly think Lena doesn't feel the same way about you, do you?"

Amélie looked up at that. She had no idea and Emily was serious.

"That night on King's Row, when you assassinated Mondatta?" Emily went on. "She told me about it but I want to hear your side. She told me you two had a tussle and she ended up having you pinned down and demanded an answer as to why you did it. I want to hear it from you. What did she say and how did she say it?"

Amélie remembered that night. She remembered it vividly. She remembered the adrenaline and psychotic thrill she had been high on while fighting Tracer and successfully killing Mondatta and how it had affected her judgment and made her actions cruel and colder. She remembered Tracer's face. The shock and betrayal etched in those soulful brown eyes. Because she wasn't in her right mind, she had laughed at the woman's pain. It wasn't until later that she realized her mistake.

Amélie didn't answer. She felt her eyes burn as she remembered grabbing Tracer and pulling her off the edge of the building with her as the transport arrived. Even high on psychotic endorphins, she still couldn't allow Talon to capture or kill the annoying Brit. She made sure she was safely out of their sight and watched over her as they left. When her mind finally cleared, she felt overpowering regret for ever hurting the woman she hadn't realized she loved.

"She was heartbroken," Emily said and Amélie closed her eyes at hearing those words. "You see, Lena knew little about what had happened to you but she believed that somehow, some way, she could help you snap out of it. She believed Amélie Lacroix was still somewhere buried under all that mess that Talon had done. When you laughed at her, when you showed no mercy, no humanity for the cruel act of killing someone she looked up to, you broke her heart."

Amélie suddenly burst into tears and Emily sat helplessly for a moment before finally throwing caution to the wind and pulled Amélie close.

"She was right," Amélie sobbed. "I am here. I'm still me somewhere and she was the only one who saw that. What have I done?"

"It wasn't really you," Emily said reassuringly. "You can't be totally held accountable for all the things you've done as Widowmaker. Look, you didn't really have much of a choice. We all make mistakes, especially when we're forced into things. If you tell her this, let her see that you are trying to get past all this horrible tosh that has been forced on you, she will understand.

"Best of all," Emily continued, "not only can you mend her broken heart but she can help you mend your broken mind."

"It won't work. She will attack me on sight," Amélie said, wiping her eyes. "We always attack each other on sight. For whatever reason, she will not think of it as our usual dance. Especially not after Mondatta. She will never forgive me for that."

"You really don't know her then, do you?" Emily sighed and tapped Amélie on the forehead in a "use your head" gesture. "You know, I don't know all this secretive … spy … espionage … James Bond humbug you've been trained to do, but I'm under the impression that if you have an assassination target, don't you plan out your strategy on how to stake them out and ambush them for a clean, quick kill?"

"The fact that you even know something about that and said it so calmly worries me, _mon amie_ ," Amélie said with slightly widened eyes.

"Hey," Emily said with mock outrage, "I read books and watch the bloody television when there are movies on, you know! How do you think I knew who James Bond was?"

The two women smiled. It seemed unlikely, but they had found some common ground and were working out a problem that was deeper than either knew existed. _Funny how things end up like that_ , Emily wondered to herself.

"I think if you put your mind to it, you will know the perfect time to approach her," Emily said. "Treat Lena as you would an assignment or mission or whatever they call it. Only, this time, instead of trying to shoot her, you are going to sweep her off her feet. Don't hesitate, don't overthink, just do what you normally do."

Amélie nodded. It made sense. The more she thought of it like that, the more her worry and apprehension melted away. Emily saw the determination set in her golden eyes.

"Are you sure you are alright with this?' Amélie asked and Emily blinked several times as she realized there was concern for not only Lena, but her as well in that question.

"Absolutely," Emily replied. "I love Lena and I always will even if we aren't romantically involved. I don't want her hurting and I certainly don't want her dead or wanting to be that way. If it takes the one most unlikely woman to get her out of this funk and gives her a love affair that can not only get her spark back but be right for her, then I'm all for it."

Amélie nodded and patted the other woman's knee. Emily did not jump or react negatively at the touch this time. "I won't keep her from you, I promise," the assassin told her.

"Well, I would bloody well hope not," Emily said with a smile. "And, speaking of that, once you get things squared away, don't feel as if you can't drop by and say hello at times. Next time we'll have proper tea or something. But no tranquilizer darts next time, if you please."

Amélie laughed a genuine laugh. "I will knock on your front door," she promised.

They hugged each other and, although Amélie was colder to the touch, Emily felt the warmth of emotions awakening in the woman. It would take time and, bless her, Lena would definitely help with that.

"You go get her," Emily whispered. "You make her happy and yourself as well because you both need this." She drew back and looked the French woman in the eyes before adding, "You both deserve this. No more fighting it."

6

 _The Black Woods River Pub, London Three days later_

She was miserable. It wasn't getting any better. She tried doing any and all missions Winston could give her until the big gorilla scientist had told her enough was enough and that she was wearing herself out. He strictly forbade her from doing any more missions for a while and literally commanded her to take time off.

Lena walked into the pub as she usually did lately with her head down, eyes distant, and her hands firmly buried in the pockets of her flight jacket. Even the blue glow of her chronal accelerator seems to pulse and rotate mournfully.

Georgie, the barkeep, saw her come in and simply nodded with an understanding smile. Lena, in her defense, gave him as friendly a grin as she could manage. Georgie turned as she approached the bar and sat in the shadowed corner. Without her saying anything, he produced an unopened bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label from the stock and a single whiskey glass before setting it in front of the poor woman.

"Not to sound all creepy like, but I miss ya smile," Georgie said as Lena gave him a ten credit note as he opened the bottle and poured her first glass.

Lena gave him a halfhearted smile and a small huff of a laugh.

"I ain't tryin' ta pry or nuthin'" he continued on in his charming Cockney accent, "but you shouldn't be 'ere mopin' about. You're a right bright bird, ya are. Always 'ave been. I don't be doubtin' that Emily was a fine girl an' all, but ya gotta get out there and live a little more! It's ya business and all, and wot do I know, right? I'm just a right ugly bastard wot knows how ta pour a drink for a lady, but I know I miss ya smile and ya 'appiness."

"I know Georgie," Lena said taking a drink of the whiskey. "I'm sure it will get better. Right now, I'm fine with you and Johnny Walker here."

"Well," Georgie said with a joking smile. "Last I 'eard, Johnny was a bloke and you ain't normally in ta blokes."

Lena did laugh at that and Georgie winked playfully. "Ha! Georgie, you got me with that one. Thanks, Luv." She poured some more whiskey in the glass. "Until the right girl comes around, Johnny has been right proper with me. And so have you. No worries, Luv. It will just take some time and all. I'll be back to my normal smiling self some day."

With that, Georgie rapped his knuckles a couple of times on the wooden bar good-naturedly and left her to her drinking and thinking.

Her thoughts, as usual, were on Emily. Her laugh, her green eyes lighting up as they laughed and joked, and the way her hair hung over her shoulder when she was reading or watching something on the holovid. Lena downed the contents of her glass and the slight burn of the whiskey made her nose tingle and her eyes get watery. At least, she told herself it was the whiskey making her eyes watery.

She poured another glass and let it sit. Tapping the rim of the glass with her finger and staring at the brown liquid, she let her thoughts drift. She had tried to bury herself in her missions. Emily couldn't be with an Overwatch agent who put her life in danger to save an ungrateful world, so Lena decided that she would go down in flames. Overwatch and living the life of a hero had all but ruined her life, cost her her body, and cost her the love of a wonderful woman. _Live by the sword, die by the sword_ , she thought.

The music player came on and a beautiful Jazz tune drifted from the hidden speakers about the pub with digital clarity. The smooth bass and saxophone laid out a foundation for the sweet sound of a woman's voice as she sang about how the moon was like the eye of God watching over her lover while he was gone. Lena closed her eyes and let the whiskey and music flow over her.

She only danced with Emily once. Emily was a ballerina and Lena marveled at how graceful she was.

"Ugh, if I step on your feet too many times, we can stop," Lena remembered telling her taller girlfriend as they slow danced.

"Oh pish posh," Emily giggled. "If you step on my feet enough it will give me an excuse to make you massage them for me later."

Lena leered at her with a playful grin and waggled her eyebrows. "I could do more than massage your feet, you know," she whispered in Emily's ear and was delighted at the shiver she incited. "All you ever have to do is ask."

"Behave," Emily admonished her but with a noticeable gleam to her eyes. "If anything, I love the way you move with me. Dancing isn't about knowing the moves, it's about feeling them."

With that, Lena's thoughts came back to the here and now. She didn't know what to feel anymore. It seemed the music had stopped in her life and she didn't have a beat to use as a tempo. Maybe she should just let the music stop all together because what was the point in dancing alone?

She took a drink and let the woody heat burn her throat bringing up other memories. Memories of another woman from two weeks ago. She hadn't seen Widowmaker since Spain. That really wasn't a surprise. It was normal for them to not cross paths for days or weeks. Widowmaker was one of Talon's top agents but she wasn't their only one. Still, it amazed Lena how often they seemed to rub elbows as it were. They always seemed to find each other as if it were ordained by God. Maybe it was.

Her thoughts went to their last encounter. She always felt a thrill when fighting Widowmaker. It wasn't as if she were actually fighting her. More like kids roughhousing. She never really understood why she felt that way. It just made her excited and overjoyed to make the normally emotionless and serious woman lose it. She knew one day, Widow would get the upper hand on her and that would be that. There was no way Widowmaker thought of their little scrapes as playing. Widow didn't seem like the type to play with her prey. If she wanted you dead, she would do it quick and efficiently with a bullet to the brainpan.

But that isn't what happened during their last encounter. Lena just fought her and she didn't want to have fun or play with her this time. Lena didn't know what to make of the French beauty after what happened with Mondatta. She felt like a naive child. She was stupid to think that the dangerous assassin was anything more than a killer. It opened her eyes in the most horrible way.

Emily had opened her eyes further to truths she didn't see before. This wasn't a game. Being an agent of Overwatch was serious business with serious repercussions. People got hurt and people even died. Mercy was a godsend with her staff and medical knowledge but Lena knew Angela, no matter how angelic her name and armor was, was not a miracle worker. Widowmaker was not some girl playing soldier. She had been remade in Talon's image and she was a cold, calculating, professional killer. Any thoughts of Amélie Lacroix – whoever Lena thought she was before – was gone and she wasn't coming back. Lena didn't even know why that bothered her so much, but it did.

She also naively thought Widowmaker would be her escape. After all that happened, the terrible revelations she had witnessed and the devastating losses she endured, Lena couldn't think of a more poetic way to end it all than at the hands of the one mystery woman who intrigued her and hurt her more than anyone – including Emily. She tracked her down, practically broke all sorts of protocol and confidentiality with Overwatch's supercomputer, Athena, to track the assassin's whereabouts. She put herself at a huge risk of breaching security measures and trust by practically making the AI tell her what she needed to know before stealing an aircraft and flying to Spain as fast as she could to intercept Widowmaker.

She also felt that this may have been another point that made Winston practically demand she take time off.

And when she got there and came face to face with the woman who affected her in ways she had no idea she felt and deeper than she had ever known, she got angry. It felt stupid to be angry at Widowmaker because it wasn't entirely her fault for all the things that had happened. Widowmaker didn't have any clue how she got to Lena and she probably didn't even care (or couldn't care depending on just how emotionless she really was). That didn't stop Lena though. She was going to push her to the limit this time. She didn't taunt her or play around this time. Playtime was over as far as Lena was concerned. She fought hard but made sure to give Widowmaker the openings she would need to do what Lena wanted her to do without being obvious. Even so, when the assassin had taken advantage of Lena's seemingly stupid reckless attack, she didn't do it. Lena had been so sure she would and when Widowmaker didn't, it made her even angrier.

She remembered the look on Widow's face and imagined she probably felt the same way Lena had on that rooftop in King's Row. That is, if Widowmaker felt anything at all. Remembering that look of confusion and horror on her beautiful, albeit blue, features, she could feel plenty. Lena was too angry to really notice it at the time. Afterwards, it only served to confuse her more about the woman. Just when she thought she had her figured out, she surprised her with something like this.

"You don't haven't the faintest _idea_ what I want, you foolish girl!" Widowmaker had screamed at her before turning and running away as fast as she could.

Those words hit Lena hard and echoed in her mind over and over. It made Lena feel ignorant. She felt like everything was one big joke and she was the punchline. What did Widowmaker want? Better question would be _why_ would Widowmaker want anything? She didn't feel. She wasn't even human anymore, so to speak, from what files Overwatch had on her. Yet she showed more emotion than anything Lena had ever seen that day.

And she hadn't taken the shot that Lena had practically handed to her on a silver platter. Why couldn't she have taken that damned shot?

Lena felt anger welling in her again before the music switched to something with a rich, deep house beat. A chill mix techno melody followed and it put Lena at ease. The vocals faded in and Lena was surprised that they were in French, the lovely sound of the woman's voice flowing with the exotic purr of the language. Lena didn't know much French, but it sounded calming and lovely all the same. She sighed as anger and tension drifted away like smoke at the alluring lullaby of the unknown woman's song.

She lifted her glass to take a drink when it was softly but firmly snatched away by a woman who casually and gracefully sat next to her. She was about to express her displeasure when she caught sight of bluish skin and a familiar cold beauty that made the color drain from her face. She sat, shocked and gaping, as Widowmaker, hair down and flowing over slender shoulders and wearing a dark gray outfit that accented her long, lithe features without revealing as much skin as her Talon catsuit, calmly – and if Lena were honest, sensually – drank the half glass of whiskey. Her long, slender neck leaned back as the warm amber liquid made her throat bob slightly with the three swallows it took to finish the glass. If Lena wasn't in such shock at the sudden appearance, she might have thought it was sexy. When finished, Widowmaker looked her right in the eyes with a slight grimace to her face as she slid the now empty glass in front of Lena before, deliberately, crossing her legs at the stunned girl.

"Not bad, but I think I prefer a good Merlot," Widowmaker said in that smooth voice of hers that made Lena swoon and bristle equally. "I would have thought you more of a beer girl but it is good to see you have more refined tastes."

Lena tried her best to glare at her but wasn't able to get past the initial shock and confusion of Widowmaker showing up, casually dressed, and calmly drinking her drink in a pub in London.

"What are you doing here?" Lena asked before nervously looking around the bar to see if anyone had noticed her unlikely companion. Georgie was doing that wiping down a glass with a washcloth thing that bartenders do to look busy and his eyes went to Lena with a questioning glance. Lena gave him a quick gesture that assured him everything was ok before turning back to the French woman.

"You have been frequenting this pub for several days," Widowmaker said with a shrug to her shoulders. "I have watched you get as drunk as you could before making sure that you made it back to your flat without any incident."

"You've been following me?" Lena asked and the cold wash of fear came over her. She swallowed and quickly poured herself almost a full glass of whiskey before drinking down a couple of swallows. Widowmaker only sat watching her in a relaxed pose, her chin resting on her hand. The black lines of her tattoo crept out from a rolled up sleeve on her right arm but revealing the word _araignée._ Lena tried not to notice that her golden eyes practically glowed with the intense look she was giving.

"I just don't understand you," Lena said quietly. She had turned completely to the bar and tried to look bored and uninterested but she stiffened as Widowmaker leaned over to her and, once again taking the glass from her hand, drank down the rest of the remaining whiskey before returning it in front of Lena.

"Why are you following me around?" She asked, turning to face the other woman. "What? Are you playing with me before you finally do what you didn't do in Spain?"

" _Non_ ," Widowmaker said and her eyes made a slow perusal of Lena from her feet back up to her wide, confused eyes. "I am not playing with you anymore. At least, I'm not playing the game we've been playing, _mon chérie_."

For the first time ever, Lena looked at Widowmaker with fear. She couldn't help the involuntary shiver and Widow's eyes blinked at that. She nervously looked around. When she glanced back at Widowmaker, she found she couldn't look her in the eyes and so she faced the bar and squeezed her own eyes shut.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a waver in her voice. "What are you talking about?"

Widowmaker scoffed and Lena opened her eyes to watch as the French woman refilled the whiskey glass and handed it to Lena. "Silly, foolish girl," she chided rolling her eyes slightly. "I am not going to kill you nor would I ever kill you. Emily said -"

Lena nearly choked on the drink. "Emily?!" she spouted. "How do you…? What have you done to her?"

"Nothing!" Widowmaker said looking around trying to quiet Lena down. "We talked."

"What?"

"We talked. I sat in her living room, she drank a bottle of water, and we talked. That's all."

"About what?"

" _You_ ," Widowmaker said pointedly, making Lena sit dumbfounded and quiet. "I came to her because of what happened in Spain. It … it frightened me. She told me things, helped me to understand things I didn't notice, and told me to go to you."

"Emily would never do that," Lena said quietly. "How did you even … Blimey! You've been following both of us for two weeks?"

Widowmaker sighed. "I had to. I had to find out what happened to you. What happened in Spain … I've never seen you like that before. I found out about Emily and went to her -"

"No," Lena said shaking her head and cutting Amélie off. "You are a cold, unfeeling killer. Don't you _dare_ act like you suddenly grew a heart after what you did to Mondatta and countless others."

Widowmaker gaped and Lena gulped down her drink before getting up from the bar. She nodded to Georgie and placed another ten credit note next to the now nearly empty bottle.

"Stop following me," Lena growled at Widowmaker. "And if you ever 'talk' to Emily again, I will kill you." She heard Widowmaker call quietly after her as she stormed out but didn't stop. She even made a point to accelerate a few yards and took an alley to try and avoid any more contact. The only thing whirling through her head was Emily and how she had to get to her and make sure she was ok. Widowmaker never just talked to anyone.

Her fear was palpable as she thought of the possibilities. One thing was certain, if Widowmaker had killed Emily then that was truly it. She would kill her or die trying. She started running but things started spinning and she stumbled. She reached a bench near a bus stop and slumped into it. She drank too much too fast and then the fear and adrenaline didn't help. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her head was fuzzy and spinning.

"Aw damn it," she muttered aloud. She closed her eyes and leaned back on the bench. She thought about Emily and how her flat was still a good ways away. She shouldn't have drank so much. "Damn it," she said again as she felt the tears well up and flow down her cheeks.

She felt someone approach and knew who it was without opening her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to care if Widowmaker killed her right there on the street. She expected to die and, just like she had done in Spain, she silently hoped Emily would be alright and waited for the killing blow.

She felt Widowmaker sit next to her on the bench and gasped in surprise as two arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. It was so unreal.

"I didn't do anything to Emily, I swear it to you," Widowmaker said, holding Lena tight. "I would not hurt her and I will not hurt you. It's funny you should say 'grew a heart' because that is almost exactly what happened.

"I was so shocked by what you did in Spain that I followed you here in London," Widowmaker continued, not letting Lena go. "I followed you and saw you with her. I found out she had been your _petite amie_ and that you two had broken up. I figured that is what had gotten to you so badly and so I went to her and tried to persuade her to go back to you."

"What did she say?" Lena asked timidly.

"She said that she could not because she is not strong enough to love you without worrying about her safety and yours," Widowmaker said sadly. "She said you need someone who can fight by your side as an equal. Then she … well, she made a suggestion."

Lena pulled back and looked Widow in the eye. She was about to ask something when the French woman leaned in and gently touched her lips to hers. Lena almost jumped up from the bench but then Widow's arms tightened around her and her lips were on hers again. The coolness of the skin was different and the taste of whiskey flavored her lips so cold and yet warming in wondrous ways. Lena made a small sound of surprise but soon gave herself over to the kiss.

Reason and confusion caused her breath to hitch but she found she couldn't allow herself to pull away. She was slightly drunk, in a pretty quiet but public area, making out with Widowmaker. How could this have happened? She and Widow were enemies, Lena thought. Weren't they? She couldn't hold her thoughts as the mix of alcohol and the beautiful way Widowmaker moved her lips made thinking an unnecessary bother at the moment.

Lena's hands slowly reached up Widow's arms and held her closer. She felt the woman's fingers run through her spiky hair and hold her head as a smooth tongue traced the seam of her lips. Lena sighed and allowed Widow access to the warmth of her mouth. She found her own moan of pleasure matched by Widowmaker's and it excited her beyond what she ever thought possible. _This is insane_ , Lena thought, _I have truly gone nutters_.

Lena leisurely pulled from the kiss and really looked at the woman before her. Their breaths were small pants of desire and both felt a little flush. "I don't even know why I did that," Lena whispered. "I am drunk and scared and … confused?"

"I am not drunk," Widowmaker replied, "But I will agree that we share the other things."

"How?" Lena said. "You aren't supposed to feel … well, _anything_ … are you?"

Widowmaker took a deep breath and looked Lena in the eye. "You know about how I was remade, but you don't know all of it."

"Enlighten me then," Lena said with a raised eyebrow.

"When they kidnapped me, they reprogrammed me, not just tortured and conditioned me," Widowmaker said sadly. "When the program activated two weeks later, I had no idea who I was nor anything regarding Amélie Lacroix. I did not see Gérard as my husband. I only saw him as a target. Amélie Lacroix was buried away in the farthest recesses of my mind and locked away. Talon took the now empty and vulnerable girl left and made Widowmaker. They trained me and conditioned me to take orders with no emotion, free will, or conscience.

"Then, a few months ago now, I started dreaming," Widow continued. "They were strange dreams of me doing things that seemed familiar, faces that seemed familiar talked to me, called me Amélie, and it was after a while, I realized they were repressed memories resurfacing. It was confusing because I couldn't remember how I knew things, names, and places, I had never known before."

Widowmaker started visibly shaking and her eyes filled with tears as she forced herself to continue. "I remembered Talon taking me," she said. "I had nightmares of them torturing me, and I knew … I _knew_ , they had used me and lied to me. They ruined me. I had to keep it to myself and keep following orders. If they even began to suspect that my conditioning was fading and that I was starting to remember who I was and what I was before, they would kill me, Lena. I didn't want to kill anyone, you have to believe me. They conditioned me to follow orders and to enjoy it. They made me a psychopath who felt euphoria much like a drug addict when I killed. I was nothing but a weapon to them. I am nothing but a controllable, expendable weapon. If I don't perform to their expectations, they will kill me and find someone else to take my place."

Lena touched the woman's face and Widow realized the tears had fallen down her cheeks. Lena had such a look of sorrow.

"Do you understand now?" Widowmaker asked quietly. "Do you understand why I did the things I have done? I had no free will until now and now, I am trapped. I don't know how to get out."

"I knew it," Lena said as she hugged Widowmaker tight again. "The others had thought I had lost my marbles. I have to admit though, after you laughed at me like you were off your trolley, I truly thought I had misjudged you. I honestly thought you really were a complete psychopath."

"Not anymore," Widowmaker said. "You were the only one to see that. I don't know why, but after you started – I don't know how to say it. Teasing me is the best way I think – I started to break through. You shook me up and made me start feeling again. It was anger and frustration but then it started becoming something more."

"That and we kept running into each other," Lena said. "I couldn't really understand that. It wasn't like we planned it most of the time."

"Not until recently, I suppose," Widowmaker agreed.

"Do you believe it was meant to be?"

" _Oui_ ," Widowmaker said kissing Lena's cheek. "I certainly do."

"Why did you kiss me?" Lena asked quietly. "I certainly wasn't expecting that."

"Emily encouraged me to follow my feelings," Widowmaker replied.

Lena chuckled. "That has got to be the strangest thing ever. I would never have thought Emily would have talked you into making a move. I still can't believe you actually had a sit down and talked with my ex-girlfriend."

"It still hurts you to say that, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

"I told her you still loved her and I know she still loves you."

"It just hurts is all," Lena admitted. "I thought she was the one and I would do anything for her."

Widowmaker was quiet for a moment and then she pulled away enough to look Lena in the eye. "I cannot be who I used to be anymore," she said. "But I can no longer be this mindless killer either. Help me to escape from Talon's influence and I promise you, I will love you with all my heart. Teach me to feel again, to be alive again, and I will be devoted to you."

Lena's eyes widened. "Oh wow, Widow," she said amazed. "I … wow, I've never had someone say that to me. I don't know what to say."

"Just say you will help me," Widowmaker said.

"Of course I will," Lena replied as she touched the woman's cold cheek. "We'll have to get help from the others too. I don't think I can do this alone."

"Others?"

"Overwatch," Lena said with a nod. "It will take a blinding proposal to get the others onboard but I will do what I can for you."

Widowmaker nodded and sighed thinking of the monumental task of having the other members of Overwatch listen and believe her story. "I know it will take a lot of effort but I am willing to do what is necessary. Don't give up on me. I may not be like Emily, but I promise you I will do all I can."

"I don't expect you to be like her," Lena said. "This is … strange to say the least. I mean, I didn't even know you liked me in that way. Hell, I didn't even know you liked girls."

"Neither did I until you got to me," Widowmaker smiled a genuine smile.


	2. Chapter 2

The Talk part 2

A Widowtracer Overwatch story by Asylumchild

 _Overwatch and all characters within are trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment. This is a work of fan fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright violations are intentional. All people, places, and situations are completely fictional and no relation to anyone real living or deceased._

1

 _Kusanagi Facility, Yokohama, Japan_

The evening sky was pale in the moon and stars ahead provided a lot of cover. The guards were alert which made things tougher but not impossible. Several troops in black blast armor made their way quiet as shadows, winding their way through the terrain and taking out two of the Kusanagi guards who roamed the grounds. The guards didn't even get a chance to squeeze off any shots. They made their way to the doors and fanned out.

An imposing figure in black armor and hood floated more than walked to the cleared area. He looked around from the confines of a skull mask that hid his face from view and offered better night vision than the simple goggles his soldiers had. No one had noticed them, but that was about to change. Reaper touched the side of his mask and activated a transmitter in his ear.

"Widowmaker," he growled in an unnaturally demonic voice, "are you in position?"

About eighteen meters, hidden in the shadows and low angles of a nearby parking garage, a lithe French woman was knelt in a steady pose with a fully extended sniper rifle at the ready. Widowmaker already had her infravisor in place to allow her vision to narrow in through her scope and see Reaper's mask look in her direction.

"I am in position," she replied simply and watched as the hooded man turned back to the assembled men.

Reaper nodded and one of the Talon soldiers threw a pulse grenade at the sealed front doors. The device exploded and sent out a sonic wave of low emitted sound, shattering all of the glass in a two meter diameter. Before the glass had even finished shattering, the Talon soldiers were on the move. Reaper drew his twin shotguns and followed the troops.

Two hung back to take out any guards who came down from the upper levels while Reaper and the remaining four troops went towards the basement levels.

Guards came down as the alarm sounded and Widowmaker watched calmly from her perch. The troops who came with Reaper and her were adequate at best. No more than meat shields really while Reaper collected the payload and she secured the perimeter. Problem was, she didn't have to do much securing. The guards had standard assault rifles which meant that Kusanagi was not exactly dealing with legal goods. No one had men with that much firepower watching over some simple offices and commercial labs. Looks as if Talon's intel was correct about the quiet little Japanese facility holding more than basic cybernetic research.

Widowmaker took out one of the guards who seemed to be a pretty good shot. He had even ducked behind cover as the Talon troops were firing. The guard wasn't counting on a sniper. She let her breath out slowly and took out another guard who had managed to shoot and possibly kill one of the Talon soldiers. That left one inside and more guards came down the stairs, firing as they came.

The fool who was left in the shattered lobby actually had the audacity to ask for help. Widowmaker shot three of the guards before they could even cause any real damage and made their companions rush back up for cover.

The other troops outside started to rush in to back their fellow troop up when Reaper and the four others came rushing up the stairs.

"Idiot," Reaper growled as they stumbled in the lobby. "You don't need help when you have a sniper!"

He accented his point by shooting the stupid trooper in the face before starting through the blasted door.

That's when the scream of a missile pierced the air and exploded in a fiery ball so magnificent, it lit up the whole area in orange glory. Widowmaker was temporarily blinded and when she looked once more, she saw the Talon troops down, a whole section of the wall gone, and Reaper scrambling to his feet as flaming debris floated down like deadly cherry blossoms in the Japanese night.

She also saw an avenging angel with blue and gold armor come streaking down from the sky in the aftermath.

"Overwatch is here," Widowmaker reported and trained her rifle at the armored woman as she blasted two more smaller missiles at the disoriented troops. Her crosshairs focused on the exposed part of the woman's face and Widowmaker took a deep breath but moved her finger from the trigger.

"If you're trying to star gaze," a perky voice said cheerily from behind her, "You need to aim that scope up a bit higher, love."

Reaper's ears were ringing as he rolled away from the force of the blast. The woman in the armor – Pharah he knew – landed gracefully and switched to a wrist mounted gun. He blasted two shots from both of his guns as he scrambled for cover. They pelted her armor but otherwise did little damage. Her bullets, however, shredded the ground and a nearby parked car that Reaper dived for cover behind.

Reaper wondered where his covering sniper fire was. He twisted his head and looked up at the post Widowmaker had taken only to see sparks of gunfire and answering flashes of blue pulses and slipstreams. _Tracer is here too_ , he thought.

Pharah's gunfire stopped momentarily and Reaper took advantage of it by popping up to take a shot again with both barrels. Much to his shock, she had stopped firing, but only because she had switched back to her short range missiles.

Reaper cried out as he ducked away from the car and was thrown forward with the force of the blast. His shoulder popped painfully as he rolled with the hit as best as he could. Not waiting for Pharah to reload or take advantage of his lack of cover, Reaper ran full on to where the cloaked Talon flier waited.

He heard a distant scream from his right and above and saw flashes of light just as the flier was in range and decloaking.

"Widowmaker," he said, pressing his intercom, "fall back to the ship. We got what we came for."

There was no reply and he scrambled aboard the awaiting ship.

"Widowmaker, do you read?"

The Talon pilot flipped switches and began take off procedures as a missile from Pharah exploded on the hull.

"Widowmaker, do you copy!?" Reaper screamed into the intercom.

"Reaper, sir," the pilot said, "The shields are at seventy six percent, if we take any more continuous heavy damage," another explosion rocked the flier violently, "we'll be destroyed on the ground."

Reaper started to make a reply when his intercom buzzed for a second and a voice came over it loud and clear.

"Tell those Talon bastards their little spider has been _crushed_ ," Tracer said in a voice so cold it made Reaper shudder. He started to call the girl's bluff. There was no way they had subdued or even killed Widowmaker. No way would they do that. Then he remembered what Widowmaker had said about Tracer and what happened at King's Row when she had assassinated Mondatta. He never pegged the young agent to be the vengeful type. It was a sobering surprise.

He heard the visor hit the ground and the sound of a pulse pistol firing before silence of a dead connection.

The flier rocked again and Pharah flew into view as she took aim at the cockpit.

"GO!" Reaper yelled and the flier blasted up, almost knocking Pharah aside in it's escape. He opened communication once he was sure they weren't being pursued and the flier was safely cloaked.

"This is Reaper reporting in," he growled.

"Proceed," a steady low voice replied.

"Payload has been retrieved," he said. "casualty count seven."

"Seven?"

"Widowmaker was killed in action," Reaper said clenching both his fist and his teeth.

There was a few moments of silence and Reaper was planning on how he could kill the pilot and hijack the aircraft to try and find someplace to hide the wrath of Talon for losing one of their top agents.

"The payload is secure?" the question came as somewhat of a surprise.

"Yes," Reaper replied, not allowing any doubt or fear to even tint his demonic voice.

"Then Widowmaker is of no consequence," the voice said calmly. "She served her purpose. Return to base and deliver the payload as soon as you land."

"Yes sir," Reaper replied and clicked off the communication link.

 _Widowmaker is of no consequence_. That statement echoed in his head. _She served her purpose_.

So, she was nothing more than another weapon in the arsenal of Talon. Reaper huffed a disgusted laugh. If the fools thought of him only as a weapon to use and dispose of so easily, he would prove them wrong. Dead wrong.

As the aircraft made it's quiet journey to the hidden Talon carrier in the Sea of Japan, Reaper made backup plans in his head just in case Talon ever thought he was of no consequence.

A small Overwatch airship landed near ground zero of Kusanagi. The side door opened to reveal Winston and Mercy who helped Tracer and Pharah quickly lift up the limp body of Widowmaker. Once all were in, the door closed and the aircraft took off.

Tracer touched Widowmaker's cheek and ran a thumb gently over her face. "Amélie," she said softly, "are you alright, love?"

A small smile played on the cold assassin's lips and one golden eye opened before she grimaced slightly. "That was an excellent shot, _chérie_ ," she said indicating a bruised shoulder.

"I almost had to remind you to actually get hit," Tracer frowned playfully. "I know we were trying for a realistic fight but I think you got so much into it that you had forgotten you were supposed to take the fall."

Widowmaker laughed a sly chuckle. "Fighting with you has never truly been fighting and you know this," she said.

Mercy came into view with a scowl and maneuvered Tracer away. "Alright you two," she said disapprovingly, "Now is not the time for whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears. We might have gotten Widowmaker out and helped her with phase one of defecting from Talon but keep in mind, this is not fun and games."

Tracer blushed and nodded sadly. She knew what Mercy meant. Although she had convinced Winston and Mercy to help Widowmaker escape, she hadn't completely convinced them that Widowmaker was truly defecting to their side or wasn't still a threat.

Widowmaker looked at Mercy with her normal stoic expression. "We destroyed my infravisor and left my rifle behind," she stated as she reached out and touched Mercy's arm. "I need you to make as thorough a scan as you can to not only make sure I have no tracking devices implanted in me, but no killswitch devices either. It would do no good to extract me if I can be tracked or killed."

Mercy visibly paled but nodded. Winston opened a few compartments and handed the doctor a hand-held scanner which she adjusted to X-ray.

Widowmaker lay back and stayed absolutely still as Mercy started scanning every inch of her.

"Mercy is right, Tracer," Winston said, capturing her attention away from the examination. "You may have convinced us to go with this highly unusual 'rescue', but until Widowmaker is proven to have genuinely defected and poses no threat to us or Overwatch, she will have to be held and under observation."

Tracer started to protest until she heard Pharah clear her throat.

"You forget that you were also fraternizing with the enemy," The Egyptian said with a cold tone as she removed her helmet.

Tracer turned to her but saw that Fareeha's eyes held a warmth that showed she didn't have full convictions of her words. She trusted Lena enough to help out with this operation as did Mercy and Winston, but their trust only went so far.

"You know I wouldn't jeopardize us," Tracer said quietly. Fareeha nodded and her face was understanding.

"We know," Winston said patting her shoulder. "You can fly by the seat of your pants at times, but we know you always have the best intentions at heart. I'm sure we will find that Widowmaker is … well … at least salvageable."

Tracer sighed just as Angela suddenly spoke up.

" _Scheisse_ ," Mercy cursed. "I think I found a tracking device. I'm going to have to take it out now because it may not just be a tracker."

"Fareeha," she said to Pharah, pointing to her portable medkit, "hand me the scalpel, the forceps, and..." she paused and addressed Amélie with notable compassion, "my apologies but we will have to sedate you. You see, the device is located in the base of your skull. I am not sure how to proceed with your … um … unusual physiology. I can tell you have had artificial cardiac dampening, and bio-engineered respiratory and circulatory enhancements, but I'm not sure of anything else and, unfortunately, time is not on our side for a proper analysis."

"When I got my trimonthly treatments," Amélie explained, "Talon usually put me under with a rather large dosage: about fifty Ccs."

Mercy gaped as Pharah handed her the instruments and hesitated on the sedative. "Fifty!?" Mercy said with horror. "You really require that much with your frame and build?"

Amélie shrugged. "I have also been enhanced with pain suppressors and drug screens. You won't have to worry about it affecting my heart since I already have a lowered heart rate. No chance of respiratory failure or cardiac arrest; however, the sedative will only last about ten minutes at the most before it wears off so you will have to work fast."

Angela and Pharah scrambled to get the proper dosage quickly as Amélie turned and lay flat on her stomach.

"Oh, God," Lena said worried. "Are you sure about this? What if something goes wrong?"

Amélie looked over her shoulder and took Lena's hand in hers. "No worries, _chérie_ ," she said softly. "I am quite sure the doctor knows what she is doing once she gets me under."

Lena nodded as Mercy quickly injected Widowmaker with a clear liquid. Amélie sighed and went limp.

"OK, we need to be quick about this," Mercy said taking command. "Pharah I need you to dispose of this thing as soon as I get it out. Lena, I need you to take this scanner and hold it steady so I can pinpoint exactly where it is."

She took a deep breath as Lena held the scanner to show the x-ray of the base of her love interest's skull. The bones were visible as well as a faint outline of the muscles and ligaments and, buried under some tissue at the base of the skull, a small round object the size of a dime. It looked like it could be a small explosive device.

"Nine minutes," Pharah said reminding them of their precious seconds.

Mercy quickly cut into the woman's neck with skill precision. She only had a few moments to marvel that there was little blood and that it seemed to flow slowly before she held the wound open with her fingers and reached in with the forceps. She maneuvered around to grab the object by the edge and pull it loose from the surrounding tissues it was buried in. No ligaments or muscles were torn as she was just pulling it out before the slow ooze of blood started to fill the incision. Once out, she handed the object to Pharah.

"Possible explosive," Pharah said nodding and quickly went to the side door. "Hold on tight," she warned before pulling the door open slightly – which caused the air to penetrate the vacuum and everyone's ears to pop – and threw the object out before shoving the door back closed and sealing the cargo area shut again.

Mercy used sterile gauze to wipe away the amazingly small amount of blood before she placed a small device from her kit onto the wound. A yellow light glowed for a moment before she removed it and examined the now smooth skin on Widowmaker's neck. There was no scar and the nanobionic device sealed her incision within seconds.

"Your medical stuff is amazing, Angela" Tracer said in awe. "You were able to do that with a few moments to spare."

"Six minutes and thirty two seconds to be exact," Pharah said as she clicked off a timing device on her gauntlet.

Mercy smiled. "Thank you, darling. I only hope she thinks so when she wakes up."

"And when she does wake up and we are back at base," Winston said with a serious look directed at Tracer. "We are going to have to have a talk."

Tracer sighed and looked squeezed Amélie's hand. "I know," she said. "I'm prepared for it."

2

 _Overwatch new Headquarters, Gibraltar Point The Next Day_

The Gibraltar Point did not have a detention center. Since Winston had reinstated Overwatch despite the PETRAS Act, they were staying under the radar and the facility had adequate accommodations. That means held and under observation meant Mercy's lab and med center.

Widowmaker did not protest nor did she expect to be catered to. Although they treated her with polite indifference, she was a prisoner. That was to be expected.

She had not been allowed to see or communicate with Lena and that was also to be expected. The girl was in almost as much trouble, if not more, for the situation. Amélie felt confident that Tracer could find a way out of her predicament but her heart still went out to her and worried for her safety. She secretly chided herself at her worry. Unlike her, Overwatch trusted Lena and were even her _friends_. She had a much better chance of getting out of trouble than Widowmaker.

Amélie had already started to extend the olive branch as it were and show she truly meant to defect. She not only agreed to allow Mercy – or Angela, Amélie had learned was her given name – full medical examinations, she was the one who suggested it. She had allowed a small blood sample to be taken as well as a cheek swab. Angela had been really taken aback by how long it took to draw a blood sample. The swab was to get a DNA sample as they both determined most of Amélie's enhancements were genetic engineering and not cybernetic in nature. This intrigued Angela to study more but Amélie saw right away that Mercy was more interested in her as an actual person than a lab rat.

She never did anything without asking first, always asked if she was comfortable, and was adamant about Amélie telling her if something was uncomfortable or painful and she would stop a test immediately if it was. Given the gentle nature and bedside manner the doctor had, none of her tests were unnecessarily uncomfortable or painful.

She was so engrossed in her research and getting to know Amélie that it was Widowmaker who noticed Angela growing weary.

"Angela," the French woman said with a surprisingly friendly smile. "I am glad that you find me to be so fascinating, flattered really, _mon amie_ , but you should get some rest. I promise you, I am going nowhere and am willing to answer questions and cooperate with any tests you may think necessary."

Angela looked a little startled. "Ah," she said blushing a bit. " _Ja_ , I think you are right. Sorry to ask so much of you all at once. I apologize if I went too far."

" _Non, Docteur_ ," Amélie said. "You have shown more interest in me than what I have become and that has impressed me."

"How much do you remember of who you used to be?"

"I get bits and pieces, fragments really," Amélie replied. "It is difficult at times because I see faces or hear voices I should know, and _know_ that I should know, but details are fuzzy at best."

Angela nodded and started gathering up her equipment quietly.

"If you also mean Gérard," Amélie said a little above a whisper, "I also remember his voice. I remember his laugh and his touch."

Angela turned back to the woman who sat forlornly on one of the examination beds. Widowmaker's face was still stoic but her eyes were warm instead of the cold gold they normally were. Angela saw emotion swirling in the depths of those golden orbs and it moved her.

"I remember he loved me," Amélie whispered. "And I loved him. I loved him so much. I was so scared when they took me. I remember now that I thought of him as they took me away and placed a black bag over my head. I remember so little of what else happened but I remember his voice and I can almost see his face."

Angela found herself nearing the woman as she closed her eyes, trying so hard to piece together a fractured mind. Lena had been right, she realized. Amélie Lacroix was gone, but she was not dead as they had feared or thought. Not entirely. She looked up as Angela placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.

"It was not me who killed him," she said and Angela saw the first traces of tears in her eyes. "I was not in my right mind. I don't know how far gone I am or how … how I'm ever going to live with the regret of the things I have done."

Angela nodded and rubbed Amélie's shoulder. She wanted so much to pull her close and comfort her but, given circumstances, she had to hold back personal feelings. "It will take time," was all she could say and hoped it would be enough.

They had situated Amélie in one of the bunker rooms – not one near Lena – and Angela gave her a quick once over, showing her a small bathroom with standing shower, a single bed, and standard pillow and sheets. She apologized for the rushed accommodations but Amélie had said she understood and bade Angela farewell for now.

Mercy left the room and locked the door behind her to find Fareeha standing a little ways down the hallway. She leaned against the far wall dressed in a sleeveless undershirt, baggy black cargo pants, and combat boots. A simple .45 was strapped to her slim waistline and her arms were crossed below her chest. Angela blinked for a moment at the display of feminine strength. Fareeha was a sight to behold.

"They put you on first watch, huh?" Angela asked as she approached the Egyptian.

"Actually, I volunteered," Fareeha said with a small smile. "What do you think of her?"

"Well, medically speaking," Angela started while glancing back at the doorway, "she is beyond anything I have ever seen. I would have thought they butchered her with all of those experiments, but I am simply amazed at the absolutely terrifying accomplishments they achieved."

"Like what?"

Angela looked back at Fareeha and noticed the woman had uncrossed those beautifully muscled arms, letting them fall naturally to her sides.

"For instance, all of her muscles have been augmented to be denser but flexible," Angela explained quietly as to not be overheard. "This allows her to have an increased strength and agility despite her thin build and her bone structure has been enhanced to become denser as well so that she can sustain weight and stress without breaking anything. In other words – and I'm making an educated guess here – she could probably easily leap a great distance even without the aid of her grappling hook and fall a good distance without serious injury to her bones or joints."

Fareeha raised an eyebrow. "She sounds impressive," she said with a slight frown.

Angela scoffed and gave Fareeha a warm smile as she tenderly reached up and caressed the woman's cheek.

"She isn't without her flaws," she said. "I'm probably going to have to use some nanobiology applications to keep her from falling apart in the long run. I don't think Talon really expected her to be totally indestructible, otherwise they wouldn't have given her regular treatments every three months.

"Besides," Angela said poking Fareeha playfully in the ribs and getting a rather girlish giggle from the woman, "genetic engineering and augmentation is still not a better substitute for good old fashioned diet and exercise."

"Neither is a good night's sleep," Fareeha said pointedly as she playfully slapped Angela's hands away to keep from getting tickled more.

" _Ja, ja_ ," Angela said with a laugh, and kissed Fareeha's cheek. "The way you fuss over me, you'd think you were older."

"You want me to come tuck you in and read you a bedtime story like you used to do when I was on base with Mama?"

Angela gave Fareeha an amused look as she walked away. "No no," she said "but it's good to know you remember the stories I told you. Don't fret so much about our guest. I doubt she is going to cause you any trouble."

Fareeha nodded but sighed as Angela disappeared down the hall. She looked back at the closed door of the room that contained the most notorious assassin formally of one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the world. No doubt resting up for whatever was to come. Time would tell if she was preparing to join them or betray them.

3

 _Gibraltar Point, the Next Day_

It was several hours later and Tracer heard a knock on her door. She groaned a bit and stretched, not realizing she had fallen asleep. She had worried about what was going on with Amélie. She opened her door to see Torbjörn.

The man was half her size and twice her age and had always been a good friend. The grumpy older Swede nodded as she opened the door.

"C'mon, Trouble," he said with a fierce grin. "Everyone's all gathered to hear what you've gotten yourself into this time."

His nonchalant and playful tone gave Lena some hope. She grabbed her chronal accelerator and strapped it on while he waited.

"Be honest with me, Torb," she said as she adjusted the shoulder straps, "just how big a mess am I in?"

"Well," he said running a hand through his beard. "It is definitely up there with the world's worst things, but that's why we're all waiting to hear what you have to say because you aren't one for messing up like this."

"I promise, it sounds a lot worse than it is," Lena ran her fingers through her hair and looked about the room to see if she had forgotten anything.

"I think it sounds more shocking than bad," Torbjörn said.

They didn't say much on the way to the main lab. They didn't really have an assembly hall in Gibraltar either.

"So," Torbjörn whispered, "is it really her?" He looked about to make sure they wouldn't be overheard.

"Hmm," Lena thought about it. "I'd say yes and no. She's … changed. I don't mean like the whole blue skin and whatnot either. She's … well, I guess I'll have to explain everything to everyone all at once."

"Fair enough," Torbjörn said as they reached the lab. He opened the doors and they stepped inside.

The lab was lit pretty well but still it seemed a little menacing to Lena. Winston sat on a large tire that served as a chair for the big guy. Some folding chairs had been set up and Lena noticed Mercy sitting in one by Winston. She paused as she saw another face she hadn't expected to see sitting on the other side.

Jack Morrison, also known as Soldier 76, was once strike commander of Overwatch in its prime and stepped down to allow Winston as acting commander while Overwatch was still on the outs. His face was handsome and stern and his hair was mostly white and cropped short. He sat in a relaxed position with his arms crossed and reminded Lena of a strict father.

Behind him, standing more than sitting, were Reinhardt and Pharah, both out of their armor and wearing their gray tank tops and black cargo pants. Fareeha's expression was softer this time but Lena refrained from giving her a smile. Reinhardt had a blank expression but his eyes watched her curiously.

She saw more of a silhouette of the cowboy known as McCree laid back in a seat farther out. If he didn't periodically puffed out a small cloud of smoke from his cigar, Lena would have thought he had kicked back and was taking a nap.

No sign of Widowmaker but that wasn't a surprise. Lena hoped she was alright.

Torbjörn led Lena to stand more or less in front of the assembly and took his seat by McCree. Tracer looked at their faces, both stern and hopeful, and swallowed.

"Well," she said with a slight smile, "guess the gang's all here then."

Winston nodded and simply said "OK, Lena, you know why we are all here. Care to explain how you ended up fraternizing with one of our worst enemies and then talking us into intercepting a Talon mission with a secondary objective to capture that same enemy and bring her back with us?"

Lena took a deep breath. "Alright," she said. "It all started about three months ago. It was after we had that little run in with them gang-bangers at that Omnic facility. Emily broke up with me that next morning..."

Lena told them of how the break up had happened and why and how it had sent her on a downward spiral of self loathing and drinking. She told them at how she had tracked down Widowmaker in Spain and tried to get her to kill her – which earned quite a few gasps of surprise and an "oh, Lena," from Mercy.

Her story continued as she told of how Widowmaker had found and had a heart to heart chat with Emily, found Lena at one of her favorite pubs, and pretty much told her everything.

All eyes were on her and some wider than others.

"Let me see if you can clarify," Jack said leaning closer. "You aren't just fraternizing with Widowmaker, one of the world's most disreputable assassins, you are actually in a romantic relationship with her?"

"Jack," Lena said frowning. "We've all known I was a lesbian for quite some time now..."

"I'm not questioning your sexual preferences," Jack said with a huff. "Frankly, I don't give a damn if you like birds over bees. Being gay isn't the problem, Lena, your choice in partners is."

Lena looked down and blushed.

"I know you loved Emily – hell, from the looks of things you two still do – but I find it so..." he ran his hands through his white hair. "Well, it just blows my mind that you and Widowmaker, of all women in the whole world, somehow _you two_ ended up together."

"I think the real question is," Winston said grabbing everyone's attention, "you seem to trust her enough to be involved with her but can _we_ trust her? Better yet, _why_ should we trust her?"

"I am sure in time, Amélie can prove-"

"Amélie?"

The question had come from the back of the assembly. Everyone shifted at the sound of the new voice and Lena looked over where a tall figure in a hooded cloak, dusty and tattered, came into the light. The woman reached up and pulled her hood back showing a beautiful older face with an eyepatch covering her right eye while the other stayed sharp and quick with a similar tattoo to Fareeha's. Her hair was gray and fashioned into a braid and her one eye focused on Lena.

"Captain Amari?" Lena asked. Her wide eyes swept from the legendary Overwatch Second-in-command to her daughter. Fareeha merely nodded as if confirming Lena's suspicions. "I thought you were-"

"Dead?" Ana said with a charming smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Oh, everyone thought I was. I even thought I was. Most importantly, _she_ thought I was too."

"She?" Lena blinked. "You mean … Oh, God, Amélie did that?"

"We were on a rescue mission, years ago now," Ana Amari began. "Talon had a new sniper. We only knew she was like a wraith: fast, invisible, and deadly. I had perched nearby to cover the Overwatch team while they rescued some important people. The sniper was there and killed many of our agents. She was fast and elusive, but I was better.

"I shot a glancing bullet that caught her in the temple and cracked off her helmet," Ana said with a voice thick with emotion. "I readied my aim to put another bullet into her head when she looked at me and I saw a real ghost. I was in such shock at seeing Amélie Lacroix that I hesitated and it cost me."

The assembly was deadly quiet. Ana turned to Jack and shook her head.

"I told you it was her," she said in a whisper, but the whole room heard. "I told you what I saw and you didn't believe me."

"No," Jack said. "I didn't _want_ to believe you, Ana."

The room was silent once more. Finally, Lena found her voice.

"I don't know what happened that day, Captain," she said. "All I know is, she is not the Amélie Lacroix she once was nor is she the Widowmaker that Talon had conditioned her to be. The sniper you met that day, who shot you and left you for dead, is not the woman we currently have in our possession. She was not just kidnapped and tortured, she was brainwashed, forced into servitude to become a sleeper agent. She has begun to wake up. I've seen the changes in her. I have fought her on numerous occasions and seen the changes."

"Are you sure?" Ana said skeptically. "I knew Amélie and I'll admit, I was shocked that she had turned to Talon and betrayed us like she did."

"I'm telling you, she would never have betrayed us of her own free will," Lena said.

"How can you be so sure, Lena?" Jack asked. "You barely knew her."

"I knew her enough to try and taunt her and tease her when we fought to try and get a rise out of her," Lena said. "I was trying so hard to get her to come out, get mad, feel something … _anything_!"

Lena sighed and ran a hand through her hair before looking at Ana. "At King's Row, she assassinated Modatta after fighting with me, I barely escaped with my life and he was dead. I tackled her – was so hurt and enraged – and you know what she did? She _laughed_ at me. She laughed at my pain. Then, she threw me over the side of the bloody building we were on so I wouldn't get captured by Talon agents who had arrived in a transport to pick her up. She didn't kill my stupid arse that was straddling her bloody chest asking stupid questions and she didn't allow Talon to take me. What kind of cold blooded killer laughs at a stupid stunned girl but doesn't kill her or let her get captured?"

The room sat confused. She could tell even Ana's brows knit at the strangeness of Widowmaker's actions.

"Then, there was Spain," Lena continued. "We fought, same as we always did only I was being sloppy on purpose with my stupid suicide mission, and when she had me, in her sights, bang to rights, I told her – flat out _told_ her – to kill me and you should have seen the absolute horror on her face. She looked as if she were about to be sick. I yelled at her 'do it! Isn't this what you've wanted!' and you know what she did? She turned tail and ran from me screaming about how I didn't have the faintest idea what she wanted."

All eyes were on her again. "Now, tell me I was wrong and that she's a cold calculating killer still. Tell me she's still a programmed psychopath when she has all but flirted with me when we fight, calling me _mon chérie_ even, and passing up two perfectly good opportunities to make me take a dirt nap."

"But will she be safe with us?" McCree spoke up and the room actually visibly jerked at the sound of his voice. "I know killers – hell, I'm a killer – but I only kill what needs killin'." He looked up and the red flare of his cigar gave him a menacing gleam to his otherwise dark eyes. "How do we know that she doesn't have some reprogramming in that pretty little head of hers that will send her off to psycho la- la land and kill us all in our sleep like she did Gérard?"

Lena sighed. She didn't have an answer for that. She closed her eyes and felt the tears forming. She didn't want to give up on Amélie. She knew the woman needed help and was making progress to become someone new and escape the nightmare she had been made into.

"Actually, I can attest to her mental state," Mercy said shyly raising her hand to get attention. "I had Athena monitoring her vitals with me while I asked her questions, talked to her, and ran some tests on her enhancements."

"The subject of Widowmaker appeared to have a calm demeanor," Athena's smooth AI voice said. One of the larger monitors switched from her logo to a chart showing a female form. A red pulsing showed where her heart was beating, albeit very slowly, and other lines and numbers ran on the side showing breathing patterns and heart rates. "According to normal human stress indicators, and adjusting them appropriately for Widowmaker's enhanced physiology, she exhibited no factors of stress, increased biorhythms, increased respiratory, or perspiration associated with lying or untruthful words or behaviors. Prognosis, all conversation and actions were deemed genuine and truthful. No threats were imminent or detected."

"Show us her brain activity during the tests as well, if you please Athena," Mercy said.

The chart changed to a front and side view of Amélie's head in an X-ray mesh showing a spectrum of colors slowing changing from red to green in some areas like a meteorologist following storm patterns.

"As you can see," Mercy said as she stood and pointed to several of the red areas. "Increased activities in the amygdala would show her aggression and more psychotic nature we expect her to have. Notice that these areas are only slightly red and mostly green showing that she is calm and reserved. The temporal lobe, most associated with long term memory, has shown some signs of tampering with," the screen enlarged to show a larger area in red. "According to these readings, the temporal lobe has been regenerating and thus overpowering the suggestions implanted to the parts of her brain that would make her more aggressive.

"I would have to run more tests however," Mercy said with a sigh, "but it is my diagnosis that she has experienced so much trauma from the conditioning she originally received that it would be impossible for her mind to even retain a secondary conditioning. Despite all the biological changes that have been performed on her, she is still human and the human mind can only take so much. If Talon were to 'over-condition' her, they would ruin the programming they so meticulously implanted already and, thus, make their perfect, emotionless, and controllable assassin brain dead."

"That was a lot of medical talk, doc," Reinhardt said with a chuckle. "Want to dumb it down some for the rest of us?"

The assembly chuckled, making the mood altogether less tense and even Mercy smiled a bit.

"Ok," she said and thought about it. "Hmm… well..."

"It's kinda like this," Lena spoke up with a sudden burst of insight. "Think of if you had a cuppa tea, right? You put in your cream and sugar, as you please, but the teacup is only so big and can only hold so much tea. After you already added the cream and sugar, if you poured in some lemon or a good shot of Bailey's or whatnot, the tea cup would overflow all over your coffee table and make a big mess out of the whole affair."

"So, in order to have a proper 'cup of tea'," Winston nodded understanding, "you could only add so much to what's already there and if you added or tried to change it too much, it would overflow."

"Yes, but what about if you drank some of the tea to make room for more sugar and cream?" Fareeha asked. "To go along with that analogy."

"Impossible," Angela said shaking her head. "They tried to do that by wiping her memories. The human brain can repress long term memories in order to make room for short term, but even then, flashbacks occur and those memories are never fully erased or gone."

"Much like a computer," Athena piped in with an unusually cheerful sound to her otherwise monotone voice, "Unlike a computer's data banks, which can be purged or formatted, the human brain is not physically capable of such a thing. Even with the advancements of psychology and medicine, the human test subject would die if large parts of the brain were destroyed."

"So if there's no chance of her having a secondary sleeper program in her noggin," Torbjörn said slowly, "what kind of damage are we really looking at here?"

"From my analysis," Athena stated, once again in her smooth female monotone, "possibility of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is very likely; however, with proper treatment at early stages, the trauma of her kidnapping, torture, and conditioning can be eased and worked through without causing any further psychological damage. There is a very low chance of her having a mental break down or becoming depressed, suicidal, or other such disorders if treatment can be arranged early on."

"And what treatment can be done?" Lena asked. "Mercy is a great doctor but she is not a psychiatrist."

"Affirmative," Athena agreed. "I suggest the members of Overwatch, once she is indicted into our ranks, make sure to have her express any repressed memories that resurface. If they are negative, help her to understand that she went through a traumatic or unpleasant experience and that it is in her past. That experience is over and she survived it."

"Also," Lena said with a sad voice, "like you have said, I didn't know her that well before she was taken, but you'll have to understand, she is never going to be who she was anymore. Amélie Lacroix is still there, her personality and certain things that made her herself, but she has also received training and other changes to where she is Widowmaker. What I mean to say is, she will have some shadows of her former life but she will mostly have to deal with who she is now and not who she was."

"So, if we take her in," Ana said surprisingly, "we'll have to help her to be _our_ Widowmaker and not _their_ Widowmaker."

The whole assembly was just as surprised as Lena was at Ana's words. Lena cleared her throat.

"So, about me fraternizing," she said in a timid voice. "What trouble am I in?"

Winston cleared his throat and looked around but it was Jack who spoke.

"If I may, Winston?"

Winston nodded and Jack looked at Lena with a sly smile.

"You are a crazy kid, always have been, probably always will be," he laughed. "I think you did good seeing what we couldn't. Truth be told, if she works out, I see Widowmaker as more of an asset to Overwatch than a liability. She has also had some insight into our enemy and so her intel can be crucial to their schemes, tactics, training, etc."

"You may have been involved with her," Winston added, "but you didn't betray us and you didn't work with her to undermine or destroy what we have."

"I move that Lena becomes Widowmaker's guardian," Jack said.

"Do you think that's wise?" Mercy asked. "No offense, Lena, but I don't know if she's really equipped to help out our newest 'recruit'."

"Several things come to mind," Jack said holding up a hand and counting reasons on his fingers. "One, she has already been thoroughly associated with combat and fighting tactics of Widowmaker. Two, she's involved personally with the woman and knows her better than any of us now. Three, it would be a good penance, a labor of love if you will, to have her keep and eye on and help our 'rookie' into the fold so to speak."

There were murmurs of approval around the assembly.

"I move that there be no charges of treason against Tracer," Winston stated aloud. "Nor any charges against her for fraternizing with a known enemy. All in favor?"

There was a chorus of "ayes" and Lena let out a breath of relief.

"Thank you all," Lena said "I promise, I will do what I can but it will also take some effort from you. I know what you must think of her, but don't let her past cloud your judgment."

"One thing," Ana said and Lena's smile faded some at the sound of the woman's voice. "I want to meet her. I want to see her with my own eyes."

Lena looked at Winston who nodded.

"Go and get her," he said. "We'll wait."

4

 _Gibraltar Point, A Few Minutes Later_

Lena had hurried quickly down the corridors to the barracks of the headquarters with equal parts excitement and fear. She had no idea what they were expecting or what would happen but she knew they were giving her the chance they both hoped for.

No one escorted her and she felt a little thrill at that but, then again, they always knew they could trust her. That made her feel very happy knowing that hadn't changed.

She reached the door and was about to knock when it slid open and two quick hands grabbed Lena by the shoulders and pulled her inside. At first, Lena panicked as she was roughly spun against the adjoining wall, but her fears melted and her small cry turned into a moan as cool lips pressed to hers. The hands that held her moved up her arms and buried long fingers in her hair and nape as Lena placed her hands on curved hips that pressed her up bodily to the wall.

When the kiss parted, Lena looked at heated golden eyes like twin suns and smiled languidly.

"My God," Lena breathed, "and everyone thinks I'm the troublemaker."

"Maybe we should change my call sign from 'Widowmaker' to 'Troublemaker',"Amélie laughed in a sultry huff and leaned her forehead to her lover's.

"Mmm," Lena kissed her again softly. "I have good news and maybe not bad news but somewhat worrisome news."

Amélie lifted an eyebrow. "Good news being you have time to finally play?"

Lena felt her knees grow weak and she shuddered sensually. "Oh wow," she whispered as Amélie swayed her hips into hers. "You have no idea how much I wish to, but no. Mark my words, I await the moment when we can finally play because, I will be honest and tell you, it has been on my mind since you first kissed me three days ago."

"Ah, this is business then," Amélie said with a small pout that had Lena's head spinning. "You had your talk with your friends?"

Lena ran her fingers through Amélie's hair and marveled at the long luxurious waves of darkness. "Well, that's the good news. They are _our_ friends now and they wanted me to come get you so they can finally meet you."

Amélie's face fell for only a moment but her eyes locked once again on Tracer's. "What can I expect?"

"No worries love, really," Lena said softly. "It's a bit strange I know. They want to make sure you are really wanting to be one of us. They want to help you truly be who you can be without fear or control. To be honest, they are a little scared but they won't admit it."

"I'm one of the most renown assassins in the world, _chérie_ , I didn't think they would just welcome me in with open arms."

"Well, we have our fair share of people who can be scary if they want to be."

"Are they expecting us now?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Lena sighed before pressing a long slow kiss to Amélie's lips, savoring the textures and flavors. "But they have assigned me to be you're 'guardian' which means, I get to keep an eye on you and welcome you into the fold."

Amélie made a noise and rolled her eyes. "Sounds like a babysitter."

"No, I wouldn't say that," Lena said with a wicked smile. "It means you and I are going to be close and we don't have to sneak around and we don't have to worry about it. I think that's a pretty good thing."

"When you put it that way," Amélie said cupping Lena's face. "I think I will enjoy you being my superior officer. Do I address you as 'Mademoiselle'?"

Lena chuckled softly and lightly slapped Amélie on her rounded rump. Golden eyes widened an a low purr was heard that made Lena's spine turn to jelly.

"We'd better behave for now and go meet the others before they send Fareeha or Reinhardt to drag us by our ears," Lena said.

Amélie took Lena's hand and led her out of the room. "You started it," she said with a playful smile and a smoldering look in her eyes.

Lena laughed and bumped Widow's shoulder. "I did not," she answered with mock outrage.

They made their way to the assembly and Tracer gave Widowmaker a smile and nod of hope before opening the doors. She led the way and stood where she had been before as Amélie walked tall and proud before her new associates.

"Everyone," Lena said formally. "May I formally introduce Amélie Lacroix, also known as Widowmaker."

Not knowing any proper protocol, Amélie merely looked at the faces of all gathered. Some she knew, others she found familiar, and others were complete strangers. One in particular caught her attention.

She couldn't be sure, but the older woman with the long gray hair seemed familiar in many ways. She found her looking at the tattooed eye and glanced at Fareeha, who had a similar tattoo on her opposite eye. The older woman did not speak but was content to have Amélie examine her, racking her healing mind for a name.

Finally, the woman stood and approached Amélie slowly until she stood, eye to eye, with her. A small sad smile twitched at her lips and her one good eye grew shiny with unshed tears. She only stood and placed her hands to her sides.

"It is you," the woman whispered. "I knew it wasn't my imagination. It really is you, isn't it Amélie?"

"Somewhere deep inside," Amélie said softly. "A small part of me started trying to come out, reminding me of who I once was before all of," she gestured at her body, "this."

The woman smiled and nodded. She hesitantly moved a hand to Amélie's face. The French woman didn't flinch. She stood still as the other woman cupped her cheek. A single tear fell from her eye.

"Do you remember me?" she asked softly, "do you remember anything about me at all?"

Amélie looked into the woman's good eye, the tattoo there. A symbol made from an Egyptian hieroglyph. Horus perhaps? She had heard about the Egyptian deities before but not an exclusive study into the theology of the region. That eye sparked something in her mind.

"Your eye," Amélie said confused. "I remember that eye, but … I can't …"

"It is alright," the woman said. "We can start over. My name is Ana. Captain Ana Amari and I was second-in-command with Overwatch before the PETRAS act."

"Ana Amari," Amélie confirmed. Suddenly, it came to her. She remembered a glimpse of that eye.

 _Do you see the sniper, Widowmaker?_

 _Negative._

 _The bullet cracked and a sharp pain smashed the side of her helmet as it shattered. The sniper had shot her helmet. Widowmaker felt anger burn at her own incompetence. She would not fail. She brought her scope to bear, focusing the face of an Egyptian woman with an Eye of Horus tattoo and a horrified expression._

 _"Amélie?"_

 _Widowmaker pulled the trigger and watched as the enemy's rifle scope and right cybernetic eye exploded with a shatter of glass and a splash of crimson. She never even screamed._

Amélie's eyes focused back on Ana Amari's face in the here and now. Ana merely nodded at Amélie's horrified expression.

"You remember," Ana stated.

Amélie started to cry as a strangled noise came from her throat. She was about to turn away when the older woman pulled her close and hugged her tightly.

"I … I did this?" Amélie said.

"No, not you," Ana said soothing the poor woman. "Widowmaker did this."

"I am Widowmaker," Amélie said confused.

"No, I meant the Widowmaker that was an agent of Talon did this," Ana reiterated. "You are Amélie Lacroix, and you are no longer that Widowmaker."

Amélie hugged the woman back tightly and understood what she was saying. It didn't matter what her past was, they were accepting her and who she was now.

Ana pulled away and silently addressed an older man who was also slightly familiar. He nodded at Amélie. A rather large man with a mustache also stepped forward with a look of awe and recognition on his face. Another man, who was the opposite of the other man and came to Amélie's waist gave her a small salute. Their faces were familiar but she couldn't remember their names.

"Reinhardt," the giant said with a booming bass voice and a smile as broad as his chest. "It is so good to see you again. I know it must be strange, but I look forward to getting to know you again."

The smaller man nodded solemnly. "Torbjörn," he said and stroked his beard. "We never had many memories from before, Lass, but I will be happy to make new ones. I'll be by your side. You need anything, you let me know."

"It really is you," Jack said. "We thought you had been killed. After Gérard was found and you weren't, we feared the worst."

"If they had killed me, it would have been better than what they did," Amélie said with a fire to her voice. "But, they did not and I cannot change what was done in the past."

Amélie told them all she could remember of what happened: the bits and pieces of fragmented fears, commands, and the implanted thoughts she knew weren't her own. She told them that she started seeing Gérard's face and hearing his voice. She looked at Lena who gave her a reassuring look and encouraged her to tell all. Amélie found it easier to tell with Lena's encouragement. Never once did the Overwatch assembly judge her or condemn her for what happened.

"The fact that you have come through this like you have shows great potential and courage," Jack said. At first he hesitated, but then patted Amélie on the shoulder. "We had to be sure you had broken through what they had done. I'm … I'm glad to see you again, Amélie."

"Do we accept her into our ranks then?" Winston asked.

"She has my vote," Ana said.

"I'm for it," Jack seconded.

One by one they nodded or gave approval before Winston nodded and approved her as well. Lena came up and hugged her tight.

"Now, we just have to put you in the system," Lena said.

Amélie took a deep breath and nodded.

Winston noticed and cleared his throat. "Just so you know, this is not to keep you under any sort of control," he told Amélie. "You are going to be a probationary member but we try to keep track of all members for safety as well as mission team assemblies and the like."

Amélie nodded as Winston walked her to a rather large computer with three huge monitors. All of them had a logo with a capital A that pulsed with artificial life.

Winston nodded. "Alright," he said. "Athena, Overwatch Initiation Sequence 20167."

Amélie flinched a little as a disembodied woman's voice confirmed the action as dictated by Winston.

She looked over at Lena who smiled and nodded. "Don't be nervous, Love," she said. "This is to make you official."

There was a green laser that scanned Amélie briefly from head to toe and she stood perfectly still.

"Please state your name and your preferred call sign for records and voice recognition," Athena said.

"Amélie Lacroix, call sign: Widowmaker."

There was some data compiled into a file that contained her picture and voice recognition. "Confirmed, Lacroix, Amélie call sign: Widowmaker. Probationary Overwatch member #2017."

"Welcome to Overwatch," Ana said proudly.

The others came one by one, some hugging her tight, others patting her on the back. They all showed her acceptance and friendship.

A rugged cowboy made his way up to her and stood for a moment, seemingly sizing her up. She merely looked him in the eye and did not flinch. After a few moments, he reached out and took her by the hand before chastely kissing her knuckles.

"My name is McCree, ma'am," he said like a complete southern gentleman. "I never got to meet you before, but I am honored to meet you now."

"McCree," Lena growled playfully and moved between Amélie and him with her hands on her hips. "Don't flirt with my girl, you scoundrel."

"I ain't flirting," McCree said with his hands up and a big grin on his face. "I was just saying howdy."

Amélie chuckled as Lena put her arm around her protectively. "So, you tease Lena?"

"Every chance I get," McCree said tipping his hat at the adorable Brit.

"I think we will become good friends, Monsieur McCree,"

Lena gaped at Amélie as McCree laughed but soon giggled as well when Amélie kissed the top of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

The Talk part 3

1

 _Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Current Overwatch HQ_

After the initiation, the attending members sat down with Widowmaker as she recalled many things that came to mind. Her memories were indeed scattered and she was unable to recall many things altogether. One thing she asked about had a couple of them somber.

"I don't really remember his face," she was saying. "I recall his voice at times. The sound of it, the way he called me ' _mon amour'_. I recall how he touched me and, even once, I recall he kissed me."

"So, you can't really remember Gérard?" Torbjörn asked. The others sat stunned.

"I know I assassinated him," she replied quietly, "but it's like everything else was a dream. Fragments and wisps of sensations and feelings that have been suppressed.

"I can recall little details," she said closing her eyes. "He had black hair, he was only slightly taller than I am, I remember being able to look him in the eyes but cannot recall _when_ I looked into his eyes. He had, I think, a thin mustache," she touched her lips, "I remember it tickled a bit when he would kiss me."

"Athena," Winston said gently and it broke Widowmaker's revere. "Could you bring up a picture of Gérard Lacroix? Something from Overwatch Archives."

The screen flickered with several archived pictures until one appeared, large and clear. It showed two men, arms around shoulders, with smiles and cigars. There were other figures in the background nearby, but the focus was on these two who looked to be celebrating a victory of some sort. One man, Amélie recognized as a younger Jack Morrison. Although his hair was salt and pepper, his face was the same and his eyes were warm and full of joy. The other man was tall and handsome with broad shoulders and dark hair that was oiled and parted at one side. A thin mustache sketched his upper lip that was upturned on one corner as he smiled at the camera.

Widowmaker looked at the picture, at the man in that picture, and tried to recall anything about him. She concentrated and studied him. After a few moments, she felt Lena touch her arm. It was a reminder that she had someone with her, someone who was trying to understand. She felt the others as well and it gave her confidence.

"Do you remember anything about him or this picture, love?" Lena asked softly.

A few bits of dialogue passed by Amélie like ghosts. She recalled this day only vaguely. Visions and faces, they came and went. The smell of the cigars, the boisterous male laughter, and names and voices blended into one another in a beautiful but chaotic cacophony.

"I remember someone saying 'That should keep them out of our hair for a while' and cigar smoke," she replied. "Normally, I found cigars to smell, I think, but these were pleasant and somewhat... spicy? I can recall someone saying 'if you stop enough of the little things, then they can't turn into big things'."

"I said that," Jack said moving closer and looking at the picture along with her. "Gérard had just helped us mastermind a plan to take out supply bases Talon was using to keep nests of troops all over areas in the middle east. Once he had figured out how they were setting up those supply bases, Overwatch's Blackwatch teams were able to infiltrate and take those supply stations out, making it impossible for Talon to set up major operations in those areas without food, medical supplies, or ammunition."

"I see," Widowmaker said as she studied the other man. So this was Gérard Lacroix. This had been her husband. Talon had erased him from her memories and thought that she wouldn't remember him as anything but a mark. They were wrong. Her memories of him were returning.

Jack reached over past Amélie's shoulder but the woman didn't flinch. He pushed some buttons and moved the picture over to the left where Gérard was standing and enlarged the picture a bit. It was a little pixelated, but a tall woman was seen standing near Gérard holding a wine glass. She stood next to a younger blonde, which Widowmaker recognized as a younger Angela after squinting.

Jack noticed her squinting and pointed at the two pictured women. "That would be Angela and _you_ , Amélie," he said.

Amélie moved closer to the screen and really studied herself. It was like looking in a strange, distorted mirror at an amusement park. She looked shy but happy. Her eyes were on the handsome dark haired man and her wine glass was half empty as if she were savoring the wine and his victory.

 _I was proud of him_ , she thought. Her heart thumped and it worried her. She loved him. She loved a man and missed a man that she didn't remember.

"This is all so strange," She said aloud and felt Lena rub her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"You know we're here for you, love," Lena said quietly. "We don't know all you are going through but we'll help you through it."

"I loved him," Amélie said and touched her chest over her heart. "I still can feel that but it's not as strong as it should be. Shouldn't I be … more?"

Lena merely hugged her and Amélie was surprised. "You will always love him," Lena said. "At least, I hope you do. He was special to you. I mean, you were married to him. You two had been married for three years before..."

She was afraid of hurting Widowmaker with reminding her that Gérard was dead because of her, but Amélie merely nodded and turned to look at Lena.

A smile curled her lips and Lena's doubts and fears vanished. Amélie understood even without saying any words.

"It will come back to me, or will stay repressed," Amélie said turning back to the picture. "Either way, it is good to see his face and have something to try and anchor these memories at least. Maybe, soon, I will remember other things about him."

"Well, we have lots of stories," Jack said. "And if anything should come up, or any questions, let us know. We are all eager to help you regain any memories Talon stole from you."

Amélie nodded. She turned to Angela. "I am sure we should start my new initiation by doing a full medical exam. I do not have any of my medical or research testing reports from Talon but I am sure I can help you with those tests to find out what has been done and what, if anything, needs to be strengthened or changed."

Angela looked surprised at Widowmaker's enthusiastic determination. "We can always do those things later if you want," Angela said hesitantly.

Amélie blinked for a moment. "Ah," she said shaking her head slightly. "I am used to doing things quickly and right away for efficiency. If you want to choose another time when it would be more beneficial…?"

Angela understood and held up her hands. "Oh, no, I am sure we could do things now," she placated. "I was just letting you know that if you wanted to rest or get your bearings first, that would be fine. Examinations – especially with all the things that have been done with you – will take a good amount of time and study."

"I think it would be better to get started as soon as possible then" Widowmaker said. "I can answer any questions while we are testing to help out. Do you wish to start another time?"

Angela looked around as if weighing her options before Athena spoke. "Any test results we can perform can go along with the scans I have already made of her. If she is eager to see what we can deduce of any existing conditions, she may have some that could cause concerns. When was your last scheduled 'maintenance', Agent Lacroix?"

Suddenly, Widowmaker's whole demeanor changed. She stood stock still and straight-backed in a military parade rest pose: her chin up, her face blank, and her eyes were devoid of any emotion.

"Last Widowmaker reconditioning and physical re-calibration was performed March 12, 2085 at 13:00 hours," Amélie stated with a blank look to her eyes and a monotone voice. "Next scheduled reconditioning and physical re-calibration to be done before June 12, 2085 at 13:00 hours."

She stood, immobile, and the others looked at each other worried.

" _Mein Gott_ ," Angela whispered covering her mouth. "That was definitely a conditioned response."

Lena touched Amélie's shoulder and the woman flinched as if waking up. Widowmaker looked around a bit confused.

"You alright, love?" Lena asked concerned. "What was that?"

"When asked about my RPR, I am required to give a full account of time and date," Amélie replied. "I have never missed a RPR but I am under the assumption that if I did, it would not be good. It is probably how they kept me controllable and pliable."

"RPR?"

"Reconditioning and Physical Re-calibration."

Her eyes did not glaze over as she answered the question and Lena and Angela breathed a small sigh of relief knowing she was no longer in a conditioned trance.

"Definitely need to get you to the med bay then," Angela said nodding. "Not only to test physical 're-calibrations' but see that if you have any other conditioned responses, they will need to be reconditioned or blocked. We don't want you turning dangerous at the mention of a keyword or other stimulus."

Amélie nodded and followed Angela before Torbjörn stopped her with a gentle smile. "Welcome aboard again, Lass," he said. "Remember we're all here for you. Not just as a team, but we're all family and that now includes you."

Widowmaker smiled a sincere smile as the others nodded or mumbled their agreement. " _Merci beaucoup_ ," she said.

When she was out of earshot, the others were quiet for a while.

"Well, I for one am going to need a drink," Ana Amari said with a grunt. "I am disgusted with myself that I ever wanted to kill that woman. After what had happened," she unconsciously touched her eyepatch, "I wanted to get vengeance on Amélie for killing Gérard and joining Talon. I was a fool to think that innocent girl would ever do something like that of her own free will."

"I think we have learned a very valuable lesson today," Winston said as he sat heavily on a nearby tire and pulled his feet up. "Talon is an organization who will use espionage and sleight-of-hand tactics in secret to get what they want. We should always remember that some things they do is not what it seems. We're going to have to be cautious and aware when dealing with them form now on."

"Now that we have a former inside-man," McCree stated with a nod towards the door the three ladies had stepped through," er, _woman_ … she can provide us with better insight."

"If they trusted anything to her and didn't get it all wiped to keep her lethal and controllable," Ana said and led the way to a supply room where she hoped there was some alcohol.

The three of them – Angela, Lena, and Amélie – made their way to the medical bay. Along the way, Amélie reached out and took Lena's hand. The smaller woman smiled and blushed a bit at the display of affection.

"No worries, _chérie_ ," Amélie whispered. "I know we planned on doing more fun things this afternoon."

"Aw, don't worry about that, love," Lena whispered back. "Just don't let these tests wear you out too much. I still want the chance to … 'examine' you myself."

Widowmaker's eyes locked onto Lena's and the smoldering look of unbridled passion made the woman's breath hitch and her step falter. This only made Amélie grin wickedly. "I promise you, _mon_ _chérie_ , you will be the only one allowed to 'wear me out' later."

Angela made an amused sound and Lena blushed even deeper. She had forgotten about the doctor.

"You two are incorrigible," Angela laughed. "I know you've been holding out for a while but, for everyone's sake, don't keep the whole barracks up, _ja_?"

Widowmaker surprised them both by laughing a full out laugh. It was a beautiful sound that had both women smiling in awe.

2

 _Watchpoint: Gibraltar, medical bay two hours later_

Lena woke up with a start as Fareeha gently shook her. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep.

"It's interesting to know but not so interesting to watch, huh?" Fareeha said.

"Blimey," Lena said shaking her head. "some girlfriend I am, falling asleep in the med bay while my girl has her check up."

Fareeha chuckled and sat next to the perky Brit. "You didn't sleep much when we got home did you?"

"Ah, no. Not really," Lena admitted. "I was way too worried about her and how things were going to turn out."

"I am glad that they turned out well," Fareeha said nodding.

"I know it will take some time to trust her and all that," Lena said. "I'm glad everyone is playing nice. It will take some time for her to blend in."

"It also takes some getting used to in regards to how she is now," Fareeha said quietly. "Mama said Amélie was a shy but polite woman who was full of life. With her emotions suppressed, Widowmaker is a shadow of her former self. It is … difficult."

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "She is pretty passionate about certain things but she isn't very emotional. You kind of have to look at her eyes. That's where most of her emotion is now."

"At least she isn't like she was when she gave that conditioned response," Fareeha said giving Lena a knowing look.

Lena couldn't repress a shudder. "That was bloody freaky," she agreed.

They heard some voices from inside the examination room. Angela sounded either excited or shocked. Her voice was kind of shrill with another more mellow voice – definitely Amélie – responding.

Fareeha looked at Lena who nodded and both women stood and entered the examination room together.

Lena was about to ask how things were going when she froze at the sight in front of her. In one of the scanning tubes stood Amélie in underwear. She had changed into something besides her Talon catsuit before her "trial" and initiation and now stood still in a black sports bra and bikini brief panties. Angela was consulting some read outs Athena had displayed on two larger monitors with a look of surprise.

Lena swallowed and smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh my God," she said dramatically. "You were in here, in your knickers, and I fell asleep in the waiting area? I'm an embarrassment to young lesbians everywhere!"

Amélie smiled and Fareeha chuckled. Angela smiled to show she had heard Lena's joke but still faced the monitors.

"You can step out of there, _liebling_ " Angela said to Amélie. "You all should come see this."

The three gathered around Angela to see what she had uncovered. Lena blushed some as Amélie sauntered close to her with a mischievous look to her eyes. She gave her a peck on the cheek and wrapped an arm around the smaller Brit before turning her attention to the doctor.

"The good news is you don't have any more tracker devices or killswitch devices implanted inside of you," she said changing the view of the 3D layout of Widowmaker's body. The green mesh figure turned three hundred sixty degrees and rotated slowly before zooming in to the head area and bringing up a map of her brain.

"As you can see from our earlier scans, this confirms what was told in the assembly," Angela said. "Your memory loss is caused by conditioning and medication they used to cause artificial amnesia. Once the drugs have worked their way out of your system, memories should return, but from the looks of the extensive damage they have already caused, some of your memories will not."

Amélie nodded and her face was impassive, but Lena could see the sadness in her eyes.

Lena gave her a side hug. "Don't worry, love," Lena said. "Those memories are from your former life, right? You got a new life that is all yours now. New experiences and new adventures."

Amélie nodded and hugged Lena back.

"On an upside," Angela said with building excitement, "your physiology is … well, simply beautiful from a military standpoint. I wondered why your cardiovascular and respiratory systems had been slowed down so much and now I understand.

"You see," she said turning to Amélie, "the reason why you can move so quickly, efficiently, and shoot with such precision is because of this condition. You are in a perpetual and permanent state of relaxation. In fact, your heart rate and breathing are akin to, say, meditation or trance. You are essentially a zen sniper."

"But because of that condition, she has lower body temperature and oxygen starved circulatory systems," Fareeha deduced. "Which is why she has turned blue and is cold to the touch."

"What keeps me from going into cardiac arrest or simply suffocating?" Amélie asked with more than a little nervousness.

"That would be the drugs they were giving you every three months," Angela stated. "I am not sure what they pumped into you, but it made your body function without using much oxygen."

"So without that medication, she'll die?" Lena asked in a horrified squeak. She tugged Amélie close with both arms but kept her at her side.

"Not if I can help it," Angela replied. "I can take these diagnoses and research with Athena and make a program to use applied nanobiology to keep her system going without those drugs. You have to understand also, those drugs were not only changing her genetics to accommodate the respiratory and cardiovascular suppression, they were also inducing her amnesia and making her more amenable."

"And this nanobiology," Amélie asked. "What does it do and what results does treatments from that do?"

"Well, you only have to look at me," Angela said holding out her arms. "I did much of my nanobiology experiments on myself. As you can tell, I am more than just normally healthy. In fact, I will probably live a very long time if not forever."

The other women looked at her shocked.

Fareeha looked even more so. "How?" she asked.

"The nanomachines in my system keep me from being able to catch diseases and keep cells in my body regenerating," Angela explained. "This means I barely age and I would have to either be killed in battle – like a really bad gunshot or something pretty extensive – or have to catch some really deadly disease that could cause more damage than my nanomachines can correct.

"The only drawback is I have to replenish these nanomachines if they grow too few in number," she added. "They also regenerate but I usually run tests to see if they are properly regenerating at a good percentage. Otherwise, I would not be as healthy and hale as I am."

"What if I get injured" Amélie asked. "What would they do if I lost too much blood or suffered too much trauma?"

"If you were to get hurt, they would start repairing immediately," Angela replied. "For example..."

She went and picked up a scalpel and held it up for them to see. With a hiss, she cut her fingertip and it bled. Fareeha had instinctively taken a step towards her, but she held up her finger and the others watched in amazement as the bleeding stopped and the cut closed and healed over within moments.

"See?" she asked to the captivated audience. "That was a small injury. If I had a larger injury, like say a gash on my body, it would probably take a couple of hours and I would definitely still need a blood transfusion if I lost too much blood. Anything major – even death if given treatment within moments of the time of death – can be repaired by my Caduceus staff."

"So we'll have to wait on that until you and Athena can make proper adjustments?" Lena asked still holding Amélie tightly.

"Yes," Angela admitted. "Though, with as much data as we have gathered, it won't take too long."

"I am glad I could help," Amélie said.

"Don't worry, _liebling_ ," Angela said nodding. "You're one of us and I will make sure you are good and healthy for a long, long time. Furthermore, I have no doubts that once your body gets used to the adjustments that have been made, you may not need the nanomachines to help you at all and will be self reliant."

Amélie nodded and Lena cleared her throat with a little blush.

"So, um" Lena began while running her hand over Amélie's hip. "Is she free to go?"

Angela couldn't help but laugh. "Oh _mein gott_ ," she teased, "yes, for heaven's sake, you two go spend some time together. Only remember, Amélie, you are a probationary member so stay close to the base where Athena can keep track. It's not to offend you or not trust you, it's standard security, _ja_?"

" _Oui_ ," the French woman agreed and gathered up her clothes. Lena pulled the other woman close and they shared girlish giggles as they left. Angela merely shook her head and smiled watching the two of them leave.

Her musings were interrupted by Fareeha who had moved to examine some of the data readouts.

"Do you think I should get some augmentation?" she asked and Angela turned to her confused.

"Why would you need those?" Angela asked. "You are in superb shape, Fari."

Fareeha smiled at Angela's nickname. No one called Security Chief Amari "Fari" except her.

"I was just thinking," Fareeha continued. "Amélie can move fast, she's stronger than she looks, can take a beating that would render most soldiers unconscious or near death without much hindrance to her performance..."

She trailed off as Angela touched her bare shoulder. The feel of the woman's hand had Fareeha closing her eyes just to savor it.

"If you are thinking you don't measure up, Fari, let me tell you, you are beautiful and strong just as you are," Angela's words were no more than a whisper but Fareeha heard it loud and clear.

She had fallen for Angela long ago, when she turned twenty and Angela was twenty five. She always admired Angela from the time she met her when they were just kids. Only five years older than her but already accepted into medical school and making breakthroughs. It also struck her as odd considering she had never had these feelings for a girl before. She had liked several boys growing up and even had a boyfriend – although it was experimental due to their ages – at one time. But Angela … there was something special about Angela Ziegler that had Fareeha thinking more than just friends.

She had never said anything to Angela, of course, and she had gone to join the Egyptian army and, later, Helix Security International. It wasn't until Winston's Overwatch recall that she secretly accepted her indoctrination into Overwatch and back to having Angela in her life.

They picked up just as they had left off. They had always kept in touch with emails, regular letters, phone calls (when they could), but actually seeing Angela again, working with her, that was something Fareeha hadn't expected to ignite those fires in her heart she had thought would die out.

She had no idea if Angela had felt the same. Of course, she wasn't going to ask. Although, Angela did seem to be closer to her than anyone else. They had a few uncomfortable silences that made Fareeha wonder and, often, have something to trouble her sleep thinking about.

Now, with Angela here, alone, touching her, Fareeha could almost feel that fire in her heart engulfing her whole being. She turned to look at Angela to thank her for her kind words and found the beautiful blonde looking at her in that way that had Fareeha burning inside.

"So, you think I'm beautiful?" Fareeha said trying to diffuse the awkward but wonderful tension they seemed to share.

Angela's eyes held hers. Before she knew it, she felt Angela's other hand join its twin on her other shoulder. Then, ever so slowly, she felt those soft, skillful fingers trail down her skin. Angela looked down at Fareeha's collarbone and neck as she ran her fingers down toned biceps – strong but definitely feminine – and Fareeha found her mouth suddenly dry. Angela watched Fareeha's throat bob with a nervous swallow before lifting her eyes to meet Fareeha's again. The Egyptian could swear they became two blue stars shining brighter than ever before.

Without thinking, she leaned in slowly. Those eyes beckoned her closer, calling to her, and she was powerless. Angela didn't move, barely breathed.

" _Ja_ ," she whispered, "I think you are very beautiful."

Their lips met for the first time and the sensation was beyond imagining. They could no longer keep their eyes opened as the soft flesh touched and caressed. A sigh escaped Fareeha. She had waited for so long, tried to forget her feelings, but no longer. She heard Angela make a tiny noise and it broke the spell she was under. She drew back, suddenly embarrassed.

"Oh," she said with wide eyes. "Oh God, Angela … I … I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Angela pulled her tight and held her close.

"Don't be sorry," Angela simply said. " _Mein Gott_ , I was wondering if I was going crazy all those years ago. I felt such a pull to you and didn't know why."

"You mean," Fareeha's head was spinning. "You felt the same?"

"Yes," Angela said wrapping her arms around Fareeha's neck and holding her tighter. "I was going absolutely insane. We were always close after we met, practically inseparable. Then, when you had thought your mother was dead and went off to join the army, I thought my heart would burst."

"God," Fareeha said as she wrapped her arms around Angela's slim middle and returned the embrace. "I had never felt this for another girl before and it frightened me. I thought if I told you that I would lose you."

" _Nein_ ," Angela said. She turned and kissed Fareeha's cheek. "I never knew I could miss someone so much as when you joined the army. I looked forward to your emails, your calls, all of them. The longer I was away from you, the worse I felt."

"I would think of how you were doing in medical school once you graduated," Fareeha said. She kissed Angela's neck and got a thrill as she felt the woman shiver with delight. "I read all about your applied nanobiology breakthroughs and discoveries. I missed you so much. I- I had no idea I felt like … this."

They turned and looked at one another before, tentatively, gently, kissing again and again. Angela's fingers went through Fareeha's hair and entwined with the gold beaded braids as Fareeha moved her hands up Angela's back, feeling her soft skin warm underneath.

They broke the kiss, panting and Angela smiled. Her sigh of relief turned to a gasp of surprise as she turned somewhat to the computer behind them. Athena had said nothing at the romantic display playing out. The AI was simply compiling the collected data on Amélie and writing formulas for possible nanobiological programming.

"Um, Athena," Angela said in a quiet voice. "Please tell me you didn't … um … observe and record anything of that just now."

"No, Dr. Ziegler," Athena said with a cheerful sound to her otherwise monotone voice. "You should be well aware that I have privacy protocols much like your Hippocratic Oath. I will not divulge any information nor archive any such information unless specifically released by the involved party or parties. Besides, I fail to see the issue with pursuing a romantic relationship with Security Chief Amari."

"I can't believe we kissed," Angela said in a dreamy way that had Fareeha feeling giddy.

"Me either," Fareeha said. "I want you to know, the feelings are genuine. I will admit, I have never felt this way about a girl before you but that doesn't make my feelings less real."

"I completely understand," Angela said. "I feel the same. I have for a long time."

They smiled and kissed again. Slowly letting their lips feel and taste the other before breaking off with a mild case of giggles.

"Do you think those two had anything to do with our need to confess?" Fareeha said nodding her head towards the doorway Lena and Amélie had left moments before.

"Oh, those two are something else," Angela replied rolling her eyes. "They are so opposite and yet so perfect for each other. The paradigm of balance."

"Well, I will have you know, I will be right by your side, whenever you need me," Fareeha said.

"Same here," Angela replied and kissed Fareeha softly.

"We shouldn't let Mama know about this just yet," Fareeha said.

"Do you think she would disapprove?"

"I think it will be strange to her is all."

"I can keep a secret if you can."

Fareeha smiled. "Some secrets can be fun."

They both turned to the computer who was still working along silently and diligently before Athena spoke with a lilt to her electronic tone. "My circuits are sealed," she all but laughed.

3

 _Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Overwatch headquarters_

Although Lena teased about how being undressed would be more fun, Amélie did, in fact, put on the loose comfortable clothing she had been provided with. They were trying to decide on how to spend their free time together now that they had no worries or hiding when Amélie's stomach growled a bit. She seemed surprised at this.

"We can grab something to eat in the 'mess hall'," Lena said cheerfully sitting on the bed and watching Amélie put on a tank top and loose fitting workout pants with amusement. "You'd think we'd have gruel or something but we actually have plenty of decent meals. It's kind of the just add water and heat up variety so it's not five star quality."

Amélie had stopped dressing for a moment and pressed her hands to her stomach. This concerned Lena and she leaned up on the bed to get a better look at the French woman.

"Ame?" she asked cautiously, using her nickname to keep this situation light. "You ok, love?"

"That was strange," Widowmaker said quietly. She seemed genuinely surprised.

"What, that your tummy talked? That just means you're hungry, silly."

"No, that hasn't happened in a long time," Amélie replied. "Being actually hungry."

Lena frowned a bit and hopped off the bed. "When was the last time you ate?"

Amélie tilted her head and let out a slow breath as she considered it. " _Mon dieu_ , it's has been since yesterday. I am so used to being on a strict schedule that this is throwing me off a bit."

She looked at Lena who nodded. "Talon had you on a short leash. I bet they even managed sleep schedules and other routines that we'll have to work on so you can be more self sufficient. You don't have to be on a strict schedule anymore do you?"

"Some things like my RPR would be a must but I think I can handle things like eating, sleeping, and other daily functions."

"Just remember you are free now," Lena reminded her and cupped Amélie's cheek. "No more leashes." She leaned in and kissed Amélie fully. "You're a free bitch, baby."

Amélie's eyes narrowed but a smile played on her lips. "So, I am your bitch, am I?"

The playful challenge gleamed in Lena's eyes. "I know you can be a bitch sometimes. But yeah, you're _my_ bitch."

Amélie took Lena's mouth in a fierce kiss that had Lena weak in the knees and wrapping her arms around the taller woman's shoulders for support. She squealed with delight against the onslaught as Amélie grabbed her rounded rump with both hands and squeezed. Lena opened her mouth and let a lusty laugh out and Amélie took full advantage as her tongue, surprisingly warm, slid into Lena's mouth and plundered.

 _My God, this woman can_ kiss, Lena thought. It was the only coherent thought she could possibly have as the beautiful assassin killed her softly with velvet lips and a wicked tongue. Lena's mind was on nothing but those lips and what wonderful things she was betting that tongue could do to other parts of her anatomy.

Grrrrrr.

The low rumble startled both of them and it took a moment to realize the wild animal between them was Amélie's empty tummy begging for sustenance. This brought surprised giggles that turned into full fledged laughs of delight as Lena pecked Amélie's lips.

"We better feed that beast," she said giggling and poking Amélie's tummy which had the woman squirm and playfully slap the other woman's hand away. "You're going to need your energy for later if you keep turning me on like that."

"Likewise, _chérie_ ," Amélie said. Her eyes were positively glowing and Lena was about to think food wasn't important before Amélie tugged her hand.

"You will have to show me the way," Amélie reminded her as they left the private quarters.

"Oh, yeah," Lena said shaking her head and how silly she felt for forgetting that Widowmaker had never been in Watchpoint: Gibraltar before. "I guess I should show you around first, eh?"

They made their way through lit hallways. It amazed Amélie how bright the place was for something supposed to be hidden. It was a refreshing change from the dark and gloomy halls of Talon bases.

Lena chatted away about the recreation rooms and newly restored training rooms which, she assured her girlfriend, would be used quite a lot now that Amélie had joined their ranks. A gym was also set up but was not state of the art as others would have thought. Deeper in, Lena told Amélie was what they dubbed "the Forge" that made up of Torbjörn's workshop where he made or repaired equipment and other projects.

They made it to the "mess hall" and Amélie noticed it was pretty much a break room with microwave units, freezers, and storage containers. Several tables and chairs had been set up with other folded along one wall to provide more accommodations if needed.

One table was taken by a large man with blonde hair that Amélie remembered being Reinhardt. The large man was eating a platter of food when the girls walked in. Upon seeing them, he smiled and nodded a greeting, cheerfully munching on a mouthful of something delicious.

"You decide to show off your culinary skills, Lena?"

"Well, I can try," she replied. "Not much to really wow Amélie with."

Lena was digging around the freezer looking for something she couldn't mess up. Amélie sat at the table with Reinhardt and looked over his meal. It looked like a large slice of meat, potatoes, and something white that smelled vaguely like cabbage.

He was about to ask her something when he noticed her face had gone somewhat blank and she was staring at the meat and potatoes. Lena started to ask something but Reinhardt quietly motioned her over and nodded to where Amélie sat staring.

"You visiting a far away land, Amélie?" Reinhardt asked gently and made a slight motion that got her attention.

"I remembered making meat and potatoes once," she said blinking slowly. "I got a recipe from the Internet and tried it out. I can remember it came out so much better than I had hoped and was happy to present it. Steak, I think it was, grilled rare with pepper and other spices."

"Sounds delicious," Reinhardt said. "Rare meat can be quite good especially with herbs and spices rubbed in before grilling."

"' _C'est délicieux_ ' he had said," Amélie said dreamily and a smile crossed her face.

Lena looked at Reinhardt and they knew whom the "he" was she was referring to.

"I had no idea Gérard had liked rare meat," Reinhardt said. "I guess steak and potatoes were different from hamburgers."

"We should do that," Lena said catching Amélie's attention. "Cook together."

Reinhardt huffed a laugh. "Maybe you can teach Lena how to do a thing or two," he teased.

"I'm not that bad," Lena shook her head. "Geez, you make it sound like I burn water."

"We can work together on what we find here, _non_?" Amélie said looking around.

"Well, I did find some stuff in the fridge," Lena said and led the way.

The women discovered a stash of eggs, three different cheeses, milk (that thankfully was still fresh), and various vegetables. Amélie smiled as she took eggs and cheese out along with some peppers and tomatoes.

"I shall teach you the basics of French culinary arts, _chérie_ ," Amélie said proudly.

"What are we making?"

" _Omelette au fromage_."

Lena burst out laughing and Amélie raised an eyebrow as Lena giggled.

" _C'est quoi_?"

"Oh, I'm just glad we are making something French that I actually now how to say," Lena said kissing Amélie's surprised face. "That's one thing I really wish I could do is speak more French. As long as we are together, saying a few words and phrases would be awesome."

"Ah, I can do that while we do this," Amélie said with a smile.

Reinhardt sat and ate quietly as the two women moved about the kitchen area dicing vegetables, frying eggs, and making sure the omelet was smooth and tender. Lena was pretty good at cutting the vegetables as well as learning simple words like "poêle" (frying pan), "legume" (tomatoe), and "fois" (fold as in folding the omelets over and over). He had to admit, the two worked well together and bonded perfectly. One thing he noticed that made him smile was Amélie's face. No longer cold or emotionless, her features were still pretty stoic but she had a life to her eyes that lit up her whole persona.

He thought back to when, once, he had met Amélie at a small affair at the Lacroix house. She was so bright and beautiful. It reminded Reinhardt of his own girl, Brigitte. He also felt a tear in his eye as he saw Amélie resurface in that blue skinned face. She wasn't that Amélie anymore, but by all that was right and good, he vowed silently that he would help Lena to help this new woman be whoever she was now. It was for Lena's own good and her own.

He also vowed that he would make those bastards at Talon pay for ever hurting a beautiful creature like Amélie Lacroix.

Lena's laugh pulled him from those thoughts and reminded him that he wouldn't be alone in that regards.

4

 _Watchpoint: Gibraltar, later than evening_

After eating and cleaning up, Lena showed Amélie around more. It seemed Watchpoint: Gibraltar was more of a research and development area and not a main headquarters. Winston and others had made changes to the place, but Lena assured Amélie it was not the same as main headquarters had been in Switzerland.

They came across what Lena called the Romper Room. At Amélie's inquisitive look, she giggled and led the French woman inside. It wasn't very brightly lit but it had some free weights, punching bags, speed bags, and even a boxing ring.

"I guess you know why we call it the Romper Room now?" Lena smiled giving Amélie an affectionate squeeze.

"I can see us spending a lot of time in here, _chérie_ ," she replied.

"Oh?"

Amélie simply gave Lena an amused look. "Sparring with one another is practically foreplay. Admit it, you get hot and bothered when we dance."

Lena blushed. "I'm not normally so rough," she said quietly. "I just … I dunno … felt so invigorated when we would fight it out. I mean, I know you weren't playing. You had me dead to rights so many times."

Amélie surprised her by reaching out and cupping her face. Her hands were smooth and soft despite their coolness and Amélie's eyes were anything but cold. Lena's breath hitched.

"I am so very sorry," Amélie all but whispered. "I want you to know that, no matter what atrocities I was made to do or even enjoy, I couldn't bring myself to do it, Lena. There was a part of me that yearned to see you, be with you, even if it was in combat. It … thrilled me … and the only one time I ever took a potentially fatal shot at you, I felt it after the high of fighting was over."

Lena touched Amélie's face. "I know," she whispered back. "I took reckless gambles, egging you on, trying to get a rise out of you in the hopes that it would break whatever they did to you."

"It was a terrible and insane plan," Amélie agreed nodding before she looked into Lena's eyes and held her there. "And it worked beautifully."

"Rest assured, I will always be your willing partner," Lena said smiling brightly. "sparring or … otherwise."

"If we practice in the Romper Room, it may also help me to stay under control when faced with combat situations."

"That is true," Lena said mulling it over. "I'm sure it would be best if you didn't get lost to your own blood thirst."

Amélie nodded. " _Merci_ , Lena," she whispered pulling Lena into a tight embrace. "I owe you so much."

Lena breathed in the wonderful scent that was Amélie. Her cool skin warmed quickly to the younger girl's touch. No words were exchanged for long moments as they stood, in each other's arms, just enjoying it. When Lena did look up, she found those same gold eyes, still glowing with intensity and a wide smile broke over her face.

"You," Lena purred, "are thinking very unladylike thoughts."

"I assure you, _chérie_ , I am a perfect lady,"

"Well, you are perfect, I'll give you that."

Amélie brushed her lips over Lena's and made the woman gasp with desire before whispering in her ear. "Would you like to know what I was thinking?" she breathed.

"W-what would that b-be?" Lena stumbled as she felt her heart go into overdrive.

Amélie chuckled and whispered some very interesting thoughts. Lena simply moaned and allowed her eyes to close, picturing the beautiful scenes Amélie painted for her with hushed words and silken promises. They were not ladylike.

"Blimey," she whispered and felt the heat color her cheeks. "We need to take this back to the private quarters. If I can walk straight, that is."

"Shall I carry you?" Amélie teased.

"No way," Lena said biting her lower lip. "If you even tried to pick me up in your arms right now, we'd be christening this room here and now on the floor and damn anyone who had the misfortune of coming in."

Amélie chuckled that throaty purr that made Lena's heart skip several beats. "That would be … unfortunate, I suppose."

Lena took her by the hand and led her, albeit quickly, out to where their private chambers were. No words were spoken as their strides were quick and efficient. Within a few uninterrupted minutes, they were in the hall where private chambers had be made. They only paused for a moment until Lena practically dragged Amélie to hers.

The door had just shut and locked with a soft click before Lena was upon Amélie. Her arms encircled the taller woman's neck and Lena's fingers deftly unwound the ponytail Amélie had pulled her hair up into earlier that day. Both Amélie and Lena sighed as long black waves flowed down slim shoulders and Lena marveled at the display.

"My God, you are so beautiful," she said reverently looking at Amélie's face now framed with her dark gorgeous hair.

Their lips clashed together, the smooth flesh meshing with the other's. The ferocity of the pent up fire between them finally loosed. Amélie pressed her body to Lena's and felt the slight intrusion of her chronal accelerator. Their kiss momentarily halted by the device, Lena growled.

"Ah, one moment, love," she said. Within moments, she had popped open the jacks and loosened the harness from her shoulders before unbuckling the leg straps and quickly, but with much restraint, tossing it in the corner by the bed.

"Are you sure that will be ok?" Amélie asked. "You'll be safe not wearing it?"

"As long as I stay within a five yard radius, my molecules won't be floating away, I promise. In larger areas, like my apartment in London, I have chronal generators placed."

"Ah," Amélie said smiling slightly. "Good to know you don't have to wear it … or anything else for that matter."

Lena's eyes widened at the revelation and was back in Amélie's arms, kissing her as passionately as before.

"Now that we have no more 'interruptions'." she breathed. "I do believe I have a promise to fulfill."

"What promise would that be, _mon chérie_?" Amélie asked between kisses.

Lena's eyes were molten honey as she smiled devilishly. "You promised I could 'wear you out' later."

Amélie smiled and reached under Lena's shirt, letting her fingers creep steadily up taut muscles and causing Lena to shiver. It amazed Lena how Amélie's hands and skin could be cold and yet burn her with every touch. It was a breath-taking contrast. Their lips touched and teased as Lena reached her arms around and traced Amélie's back. Her fingers caressed the spider tattoo she knew was hiding there and Amélie moaned deeply.

They kicked off their shoes – slippers really since they hadn't brought their regular shoes – and made their way to the bed. Lena smiled as Amélie made a silent challenge with her eyes about who would be on top of whom, but Lena won that argument by tilting her head just right and nipping Amélie's neck at the pulse point. Amélie conceded with a groan of ecstasy as Lena trailed up from her love bite with the tip of her tongue.

The mattress was soft and yielding as Lena pulled Amélie's shirt up, exposing a long sleek abdomen. Amélie pulled the rest of the garment off as Lena leaned in and traced musculature with languid strokes of her tongue. Amélie sighed and let out a very satisfied noise that sounded erotically like Lena's name. She was discovering that she really loved Lena's tongue. Her arousal climbed as she anticipated what other surprises the young Brit could do with it.

Tender kisses and touches accompanied the slow removal of clothing until, rising over Amélie like a beautiful spiky haired goddess, Lena pulled her shirt over her head and was, at last, gloriously naked.

Amélie rose up to meet her lover halfway as the top crumpled to the floor and kissed Lena's breasts, one nipple, then the other, and finally pulling the first into her inviting lips. The attention had Lena running her hands through Amélie's hair and panting her name.

They moved together slowly, a sensual dance different from what they had been used to, but still sweating slightly, their hearts beating strongly in their chests, their breath panting with excitement and exertion. The two women felt more than they had ever before. There was no more anger, or fear, or a mission demanded of them. They did this for themselves. This was all for them. Free and pure, they gave in to each other what had been denied by duty and unfortunate circumstances. The thought made the passion that much hotter, the love that much brighter.

As they brought each other pleasure with sensual lips, exploring tongues, and bold strokes and touches, they broke through the barriers that had been holding them apart. Their passions brought them to sublime climaxes that had them sweaty and sated, tangled in each other's limbs as they sought to catch their breath.

"Well, I'd say we did a fair job of wearing each other out," Lena said huffing a laugh.

"Mission accomplished," Amélie agreed.

They lay side by side on their backs looking up at the ceiling and bathing in their afterglow. Once their breathing had steadied, as one, they reached for each other's hand and entwined their fingers.

Lena leaned over and pulled Amélie close. "I have to tell you something," she said quietly. "I know things have been crazy between us, for more reasons than are sane or fair, but … I think I'm in love with you Amélie. I know it might be too soon or whatever but I don't think this is going too fast or anything like that. If anything, it's more like a slow burn that built up to a raging inferno. It was just bound to happen."

Amélie was silent, her eyes faintly illuminated in the meager lamp light of the private chambers. Lena ran her fingertips over the flushed cheeks of her lover and Amélie's eyes closed as she relished Lena's touch.

"I love you, Amélie," Lena said. "You don't have to say it back. I'll understand if you..."

Amélie opened her eyes and took hold of Lena's hand, gently kissing the palm and sending pleasurable shivers up her arm. " _J'taime, mon amour_ ," she whispered and kissed Lena deeply before resting their foreheads together.

Lena smiled and cuddled closer to Amélie. "Now that was some French I understood," she breathed.


	4. Chapter 4

The Talk part 4

1

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar_

"No, she's actually been doing rather well," Lena Oxton said into the smartphone. "Angela has started her up on nanobiology and we're seeing if her body can adjust to the changes."

"Well, that is good news," Emily Smith replied from the other end. "I know I have to be kept in the dark about all the little details and all but it's good to know Amélie is doing well."

The two had been talking regularly for a few weeks since Widowmaker had officially become a member of Overwatch. Although Lena was excited to have her onboard professionally, she was also excited that she was romantically involved with her. She still had this nagging worry about Emily and didn't feel one hundred percent about having a new girlfriend.

"You seem to be doing rather good as well," Emily said with a sly smile to her voice. "It's different when you aren't trying to kill each other isn't it?"

Tracer blushed even though Emily couldn't see it. "Yeah, I-I guess so..." she stammered.

"Oh, Lena, darling, what's the matter?" Emily asked.

She was always intuitive and Lena rolled her eyes thinking it was stupid to even try and keep anything emotional from Emily. They had been together long enough to know even the tones of voices over the phone. Emily may not have been able to see Lena blush but there was no doubt she could feel it.

"Oh, bugger," Lena said putting her palm to her forehead. She hadn't expected to feel this twinge of guilt. "I guess … I dunno… I'm being daft if you really must know. I know we aren't … you know … 'seeing each other' and all that but it still feels odd."

Emily sighed and Lena felt the smile she couldn't see. "You are being daft, you silly girl," she said. "You know as well as I do that this is a much better match for you and we're still close even as friends. Besides, and be honest with yourself, you and Amélie have had this gravity between the two of you for a good long while. I'm happy things are working out. I hoped they would."

"Yeah, but what about you?" Lena said flopping down on her bed and looking at the ceiling. "I don't want you to be alone. I always had to go off on missions and such and leave you. That was one reason why you broke up with me in the first place. I definitely don't want you to be completely alone now."

"Well, about that," Emily said. "Yes, I think about you a lot and yes, I still love you and always will, but I've been thinking of going out again."

Lena felt a twinge again but this time it was a bit of jealousy that she squashed down.

"I didn't want to say anything because our emotions are still a little raw," she went on. "Didn't seem very tactful to say 'I'm thinking of dating' to my ex-girlfriend who was so distraught before."

"I've gotten a lot better," Lena said. "Besides, I don't expect you to stay single forever. You know Amélie and I are together and it seems fair you find the right one for you."

"You say that but you still got a little jealous when I mentioned it," Emily said with a knowing smile.

"Blimey," Lena said with a smile of her own. "How do you always do that?"

"I just know how you think, Lena Oxton," Emily said matter-of-factly.

"Well, don't mind me being a bit weird about it," Lena sighed. "It just takes some getting used to."

"Same here," Emily said. "I like Amélie. I idolized her for years when she was a ballerina. I felt scared and sorry for her when I met Widowmaker. She has a good heart and it's great that terrorist organization didn't destroy it."

"Yeah," Lena said thinking of how the beautiful French woman had come a long way.

"The others are getting along with her, yeah?" Emily asked.

"Some more than others but we're getting there."

"That's good. I hope they all at least try to understand what she has been through."

Lena shifted and sat up on the bed, stretching while she talked. "They have been. Some of our allies have had to get used to it. Seems Widowmaker was a lot of trouble to a lot of people."

"Is she able to go out?" Emily asked.

"We have been making her some new gear," Lena explained. "Her infravisor and sniper rifle were destroyed and left behind when we nabbed her so she's gotta wait for proper equipment to be made and tested. Torbjörn has been busy with all of that."

Emily laughed and Lena paused, thinking of what she had said.

"That's good but I was actually thinking more civilian and not military," Emily said. "Widowmaker can be very dangerous and I assume she's wanted by many people for murder and probably a million other things. Even with her blue skin, I was wondering if there was a way for her to be able to blend in with everyone else in the real world."

"Oh, that," Lena said relieved. She did feel a little silly. It kind of disturbed her to think that going out meant only missions. She should get some shore leave more often. "Well, truth be told, Amélie is pretty safe. You see, all of her assassination missions were secretive and done in such a sneaky way that any pictures or sightings they have of Widowmaker is inconclusive. No one has seen her face – well, most have never seen her face – and lived to tell about it. She has successfully assassinated all her targets so no one survived to identify her to Interpol or anything like that," Lena paused as she shivered involuntarily, "and I just realized how utterly creepy as hell that feels talking so nonchalantly about assassinations like it was the weather or something."

"Well, we know now that it wasn't really her," Emily stated clearly. "That's part of her past. She will still be a sniper but you know for sure that if anyone meets the business end of her gun while she's with Overwatch, they deserve it."

"True," Lena said. "I know I've had to take lives in the name of freedom and defense."

"So, she's like a legend in regards to Joe Bloggs?"

"Yeah," Lena said blowing a lock of her hair from her eyes. She thought about brushing it but that could wait. "Most authorities think she is either more than one person using the Widowmaker name or she is just some bogey man penny-dreadful gimmick. Athena pulled up any public pictures of her and she's not very photogenic if you get my meaning. Never see her face for instance and her outfit was not only Kevlar mesh, latex and leather, it also serves as camouflage for cameras. Her low body temperature also makes her virtually invisible to therm-optic sensors or infrared as well."

"Blimey," Emily breathed and Lena chuckled at her use of Lena's normal expletive. "That Talon organization must be a right doozy to come up with all of that. Good thing she's on the other side now. I seriously can't believe you ever faced her one on one as many times as you did."

"Neither can I," Lena gave a wry laugh. "Good thing the bird had the hots for me, eh?"

"That's for sure."

"So, are you really ok with all this?" Lena said with a serious concern. She was surprised when Emily laughed genuinely.

"Perfect for each other I tell you," Emily replied wistfully. "Amélie had the same concern when I told her to grab you and take you. I'm fine, Lena, really. I get a little lonely sometimes, and I miss you sometimes more, but I know you are happy and I'm getting there."

"Well, be careful when you are out and about in the dating scene," Lena said. "I'll even help you pick out the beauties from the nutters if you do anything online."

"That sounds like fun," Emily admitted. "And it would be only fair since I practically played matchmaker for you."

"Then it's a date," Lena giggled. "It would be a good thing to come see you again as well. I could bring Amélie and we could look at profiles over tea."

"That would be fabulous!" Emily said and Lena could feel her excitement. "I'm sure we could pick out some good prospects at least."

They sat for a moment quietly and Lena admitted she missed seeing Emily. They may not be lovers anymore, but she still loved her.

"Well, text me or something when we can meet up for this matchmaking party," Lena said. "I've got some training exercises today, but you know I'm here as much as I can be for you."

"You bet," Emily said. "You take care of yourself and you're awesome French missus, eh?"

"I will, you take care of you too."

"I love you," Emily said with a smile to her voice.

"I love you too," Lena said smiling brightly.

She had just pushed the button to end the call when soft, cool arms encircled her from behind. She jumped at the unexpected touch but soon relaxed into the surprisingly warm kiss that was placed on her nape.

"You are talking to a girl on the phone and telling her that you love her," the sensual voice purred in her ear. "Should I be jealous, _chérie_?"

Lena turned her head to kiss the lips of the beautiful blue woman embracing her and chuckled. "No, _sherry_ , it was only Emily," Lena replied. Amélie had taught her some French but Lena still didn't have the accent perfected. "And if it's any consolation, she loves you too."

Amélie giggled in her husky, breathy way and it made Lena nuzzle her with affection. She loved that laugh.

"It is good you are keeping in touch," Amélie said. "I know you miss seeing each other."

"I just hope she's ok."

"She will be," Amélie said kissing Lena's head. "It takes time, _non_?"

Lena chuckled softly at that as she kissed Amélie's collarbone. "The irony of that statement is not lost on me," she said.

2

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar a few minutes later_

They had dressed for the warmer temperatures and that meant tank tops and shorts. As they were heading for the training area a little way outside of the base proper, she had to admit, Amélie looked a little out of place in what seemed like workout clothing. Seeing her long legs tapering off into sneakers was almost laughable on the normally elegant woman. Lena decided that, despite the lack of Kevlar, Lycra, leather, or latex, Amélie still looked elegant. Must be the dancer in her. All poise and grace even when she was standing still.

"Stop looking at my butt," Amélie said softly making Lena blush and look at the floor.

"How do you know I was looking at your butt?" she asked, tentatively meeting Amélie's eyes again.

"Because I was looking at yours," Amélie replied.

Lena's mouth fell open in shock. Amélie responded by sticking out her tongue. Seeing the absolutely childish gesture on the normally serious face made Lena burst out in laughter.

They bumped shoulders and giggled like naughty children before entwining their fingers as they held hands. Amélie must be more comfortable in the warmer weather. Lena had no idea how she could stand any cold temperatures.

The main doors opened to a wide open arena of sorts with various towers, walls, and makeshift cover. The floors and surfaces were blackened and pocked from use with practice explosives and other artillery. This served as Overwatch's "practice area" where recruits and veterans alike could hone their skills and test experimental tactics and equipment.

Lena and Amélie looked out over the area from an observation room where Winston was making arrangements with Athena via a large console. Jack Morrison stood by with his arms crossed watching the scientist and his AI set things up. Captain Ana Amari sat in a chair nearby sipping a large cup of coffee that smelled great and made Lena wish she had one.

" _Bonjour_ ," Amélie said politely. "I trust we are not late."

"No, good timing really," Winston said. "I was running diagnostics for the training exercises. We fixed up your grappling hook and launcher gauntlet but Torbjörn is still working on a visor and suitable rifle. We'll have to improvise for these exercises I'm afraid."

Amélie shrugged nonchalantly. "It should not be a real concern, _mon ami_. We are testing my skills and what I am capable of, _non_? It will be a good test if I do not have familiar equipment. I should be able to deal with situations and missions using only my skills and intuition and not rely on just my weapons and gear for success."

They all turned and regarded her with surprised expressions at her insight and discipline.

"Sounds like Talon had a very strict regimen," Ana said nodding at Amélie. "You'll find we aren't that harsh. This is going to be interesting I think."

"There should be a training suit and your gauntlet in the change room downstairs," Winston said. "I also provided goggles and a training sniper rifle as well as close range training handguns you can choose from. I know Widow's Kiss was able to switch from long range to short range but..."

"It is understandable," Amélie replied. "I'm sure Torb is creating a sniper work of art for the real thing."

They all nodded in agreement as Amélie made her way down the lift to the changing area below.

Jack nodded in the direction of the lift Widowmaker had just taken as soon as he was sure she was out of earshot. "Seems like Talon is more interested in shock troops than actual soldiers," he said. "Where we actually make a sort of fellowship between our troops, Talon doesn't seem to care about that. Quite frightening when you think of that."

"Yeah," Lena said with a frown. "They don't care what happens to their troops as long as they serve their purpose. When we extracted her from Japan, I think Reaper was the only survivor. He had actually killed one of the Talon troopers himself before we even showed up on scene."

"We haven't had any reports that Talon has been searching for her or what they were doing at Kusanagi to begin with," Jack said. "Widowmaker only said she was to secure the perimeter while they extracted some data. They didn't even have a hacker with them."

"Yeah, no Sombra at all," Lena agreed. "She wasn't even on remote."

"Must have been something hard copy," Ana said taking a sip of her coffee and rising to stand next to Jack. "It's unusual but not unheard of."

"She's in place," Winston interrupted their discussion and they all moved to the large windows to look over the training arena."

Widowmaker stepped in front of one of the camera drones that monitored the training without distraction or obstruction. She was dressed in a pain black catsuit much like her own and her hair was in its signature high ponytail. Her gold eyes gleamed predatory from under the dark plastics of special goggles that served to cut down glare and had a built in headset. Her gauntlet and shoulder pauldron were secured over her left shoulder and arm as well as a single sniper rifle strapped to her back and a pistol on her slender hip.

" _Essai … un, deux, trois_?" Amélie said slowly testing out the microphone. "Can you hear me?"

"We hear you, Widowmaker," Winston confirmed. "Connection is clear?"

" _Oui_ ," Widowmaker confirmed with a quick nod. "communication confirmed."

"Good," Winston said leaning back. "OK, some things to know about this. First, the training guns and the drones use non lethal ammunition. The drones can be disabled by your weapons and can even be destroyed. They can also attack back like living targets but also with non lethal ammunition. Non lethal does not mean it won't still sting. Even with your pain suppression, it is more for getting your attention and monitoring than actually hurting you; however, if you get hit enough, Athena will alert you if you have been 'immobilized' or 'killed', so treat it like you would any real life situation.

"Second, use any terrain and immediate surroundings to your advantage. We are also seeing how well you improvise if faced with a difficult situation or complications. Do you have any questions?"

"I treat this like I would any mission then?" Amélie asked looking over the clip in her rifle and checking her ammo reserves.

"Exactly. Treat me as you would the commanding officer of the mission, report anything as if I were not actually watching you. Athena will update you on any changes or objectives as they come."

" _D'accord_ ," Widowmaker said with a nod.

"OK, first test starts now," Winston said.

Widowmaker watched as a small door slid open and a little drone whirled up to her with a green light flashing on its head. She pulled her rifle into ready position but paused as Athena spoke.

"This is Charlie," Athena said with a sound of amusement to her voice. "Charlie is going to serve as the escort. He has the payload and needs to be protected. Secure the area and make sure Charlie gets to point B from point A without being stopped or killed."

Widowmaker grappled to a high point advantage and readied her rifle. "I am in position," she said within the few seconds it took her to be ready for action.

Her thoughts cleared as she controlled her breathing. Charlie sat a few yards below, his green light flashing happily. Her heart beat once and she took a breath, letting it out slowly. All thoughts, emotions, or any distractions melted away as she expanded her awareness. Her features smooth, her body relaxed, it was just her, her training, and her rifle. Anticipation fired synapses along her body, drawing adrenaline boiling just below her calm façade. She tensed with it, let it help her actions to be precise and calculated. No room for error. No overthinking. One shot, one kill.

The Widowmaker was like a spider, the thought coursed through her like a cool calming of her soul. Her heart beat again and she took another breath, letting it out slowly once more. She expanded her awareness further, searching for prey, awaiting it to trap itself in her webs. She was poised and ready for the kill.

Charlie started moving and other doors opened. Four drones came out of a side door and four more came from another in an attempt to sandwich in Charlie as he hummed around one of the corners of the area.

Widowmaker's aim was true as she fired four shots into the heads of the approaching enemy drones. Four shots, four kills. The thrill of the hunt sang in her veins as she grappled and swung to another vantage point above Charlie's intended path, firing four more rapid shots and taking out the remaining drones. Once her feet found purchase, she looked around and cursed softly to herself as she remembered that she wasn't wearing her infravisor. She quickly compensated and leapt to nearby rooftops, keeping three or more steps ahead of Charlie.

Two drones turned towards her as she leapt across. The sound of ricocheting bullets popped as they nipped close to her heels. Widowmaker turned and took those two out before grappling to another point. Three more shots fired as she flew through the air. She spun and fired, taking out the other three.

One drone popped up, waiting for her on the roof she was headed for. Although it raised its arm to fire, Widowmaker's boot crunched into the round sensor that served as its face before she shot it in the head to make sure it was "dead".

She reloaded her rifle and looked around. Charlie was humming along nicely. No other enemies were in sight. Widowmaker felt her heart beat once again. The bloodlust making her hyper-aware. A few more moments passed and Charlie was almost to point B.

"Area secured," Widowmaker said to her headset.

All of this was being watched and monitored from the observation deck above the training arena. Athena kept track of Amélie's vital signs as well as control of the drones. So far, they only noticed a spike in her adrenaline and dopamine levels.

"That's unusual," Winston said quietly. "It's almost like she's getting … well, I guess I should say 'high' … off of taking out the targets. The more she takes out, the more aware and keener she gets with her aim, actions, and decisions."

"Yeah, about that," Lena said with somewhat of a blush. "I dunno if I should say this or not but Talon didn't just train her to be a killer. They, um, conditioned her to enjoy it."

"Damn," Jack said with shock. "They didn't make an assassin then. They made her into a psychopath?"

"Well, yeah I guess," Lena said with a frown. They watched as she flew through the air, taking out targets with ease even while changing positions with quick and effective accuracy. "She can control it. I mean, she knows friend from foe, that is, but yeah … she enjoys the hunt, the thrill of taking her targets out."

"That makes her extremely dangerous but extremely effective," Ana said. "When she shot me, it was quick and without much thought or any hesitation. If I hadn't have been in shock of seeing it was her, I probably would have taken the shot. She had no such qualms and was able to take me in a few precious seconds."

"She is very keen," Jack said watching the lithe woman dance with her training rifle like a waltz as she took out each enemy unerringly. "Like a blade."

"Alright," Winston said into the microphone. "Next test is an elimination round. Multiple enemies, some mobile, some static. Take them all out as quickly as you can. Copy that?"

"Copy," Widowmaker repeated. She voice sounded like she was a bit winded, but it wasn't from exhaustion.

The others looked at one another a little worried.

"She's fine, believe me," Lena said with a nod. "This will be a good opportunity to see how much she can really take."

"Initiating elimination round in five," Athena stated before counting down the seconds. After she had reached one, doors flew open from all corners of the area and a small swarm of about a dozen drones wheeled out with their makeshift guns firing. Small turrets appeared at some of the roofs of adjoining buildings to fire down upon Widowmaker.

"Are you sure she isn't going to suddenly become exhausted?" Winston asked watching the monitors as Widowmaker jumped, turned, and cartwheeled to dodge attacks and bullets before taking out each turret and enemy drone with uncanny accuracy.

"Yes," Lena said shaking her head and smiling. "It takes a lot to get her tired."

Winston turned and gave her a wry look. "Lena," he groaned out. "Please..."

At first Lena was confused and then caught on to what Winston was thinking before blushing furiously.

"Ya bloody wot?" she said mortified. "I didn't mean anything dirty, I swear to God! Blimey, get your head outta the gutter! I mean that, despite her condition – and I mean nothing lewd about this – she has a surprising amount of stamina."

"So her breathing being a bit ragged and her adrenaline and dopamine going up is more from excitement?" Jack said.

"Pretty much, yeah," Lena confirmed. "If I'm reading this right, her body isn't even registering much stress or exertion."

"Her heart rate has only increased by roughly one percent and her breathing is controlled and normal," Athena confirmed. "Her muscles are retaining a good amount of stress but seems to be fueled by her rising adrenaline and dopamine levels. It is almost the equivalent of a normal human on the narcotic known as PCP."

"So, she's a berserker," Ana muttered.

The others turned to her as more drones poured out of the open doors, only to be brought down by Widowmaker's rapid shots.

"What's a berserker?" Winston asked.

Ana smiled. "You all should read up on human history more," she answered and took a sip of her coffee. "Berserkers were early Norse warriors known to be so fierce in battle that legends say they wore little or no armor and were able to fight without feeling pain or fatigue until their trance like frenzies wore off."

Widowmaker stood with her rifle at her side now and "dead" drones at her feet. They could hear her taking deep breaths, almost panting, through her headset.

"Excellent job, Widowmaker," Winston said officially. "That concludes our tests for today. Come back up here when you are changed and we'll go over the results."

She didn't move. She stood still and breathed. One of the camera drones flew around to get a look at her and they noticed the slack look on her face and a glassiness to her eyes.

"Is she alright?" Winston asked Lena. He spoke into the microphone again. "Widowmaker?"

She remained motionless.

"I think I know what's going on," Lena said. "Can I..?" she motioned at the microphone and Winston moved over, giving her a hand gesture to go ahead. Lena took hold of the microphone and cleared her throat.

"Hey, Sweetheart," Lena said cheerily. "That was bloody amazing! I have to admit, I've only seen you fight from a first person point of view, but watching you in action from third person was beautiful! You know, I wish I could have seen you dance ballet. Emily says you were bonny and I believe her.

"Listen," she continued. "You're totally in 'the zone', aren't you? You feel all that excitement all built up and making you feel on top of the world right now, huh? I want you to take deep breaths and make yourself come back down, ok? Concentrate on your breathing and your heart and let your bloodlust calm itself. In and out, love. Let it flow out of you..."

Amélie closed her eyes then and they all watched as she breathed deeply. Her heart beat once and she took another deep breath. Another beat. Another deep breath.

"You doing alright, love?" Lena asked.

" _Oui_ ," Amélie replied with a small waver in her voice but a small smile on her lips.

Lena smiled. "You want me to meet you in the change room before you come up? Help you settle?"

" _Oui_ ," Amélie said simply again and opened her eyes before she started to walk to the changing room.

"I'll be right there," Lena said to Amélie before turning to the others.

"I know how she feels," she explained to them. "When I flew planes, sometimes you would get so caught up in the moment and be so in 'the zone' that you'd forget to check things like fuel or altitude and, sometimes, you'd be so deep in, you'd start getting light headed and suffer tunnel vision because you weren't paying attention to the G Force. Always had to have a little reminder to breathe and remember where you were so you didn't get too focused. Sometimes, that adrenaline can make you feel invincible and you have to remind yourself that you're not."

Lena took the lift down and knocked softly on the changing room door before entering.

Amélie was reclining on the locker room bench with her black catsuit still on. Her head was tilted back and her eyes closed. She had taken her hair out of the ponytail and removed her headset, but she wasn't moving.

Lena approached her carefully and said nothing. She saw a serene look on her lover's face but knew from the trembling in her limbs that she was far from serene. She sat beside her and pulled her into her arms. Amélie sighed some relief and held onto Lena closely. Her arms and hands shook.

"You ok, love?" Lena asked quietly. "Did you push yourself too hard?"

" _Non_ ," Amélie replied. "Not really. It's just, I never knew the extent of what they did, _chérie_."

"It will take some time and treatment to reverse or deal with the bad stuff," Lena said kissing Amélie's shoulder. "Being a soldier and being a sniper are not bad things, my love."

Amélie sighed and kissed Lena's temple. Her hands were becoming steadier but her body still shook like a frightened child.

"You get excited from flying, _oui_?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lena said. "I love flying."

"I get excited like that too," Amélie said and hugged Lena tighter. "But I get all excited hunting and killing people, Lena. I'm sick."

Lena pulled away from Amélie with so much force that the woman gasped. Her eyes widened as Lena took her face in her hands and looked at her with such a fierce expression that she got flashbacks from Mondatta's assassination.

"You listen to me right now, you daft bird," Lena hissed. "You are _not_ sick! _They_ are sick! Those bloody terrorists spreading hate and death to gain power are sick! People who kidnapped a sweet beautiful ballerina and tortured her and forced her to become a murderer are sick! _You are not sick_!"

Amélie started to look away but Lena held her with her eyes and wouldn't let her go. "Furthermore," the British girl continued as her expression and tone turned calmer and loving. "I see you. I know who you are Amélie Lacroix and I believe in you. Are you going to be a victim of a terrorist organization or are you going to stand up and be Widowmaker and _own it_?"

Amélie answered by kissing Lena with a renewed passion. Her heart sang in the arms of this woman more than she ever felt before. This was what drove her now. This and the determination to take back her life and what was stolen from her. She could never be Amélie Lacroix, the beautiful wife of Gérard Lacroix who read French love stories and enjoyed ballet. She would be Amélie Lacroix, aka Widowmaker, agent of Overwatch, sniper, assassin, and keeper of peace and justice in the world. And she would do it for this wonderful, loud-mouthed, amazingly annoying and awesome girl who kissed her and held her like it was their last time together.

They broke off the kiss panting before Lena giggled. "We better stop while we're ahead," Lena laughed as she placed her forehead on Amélie's to look her in the eyes. "The other three already think we're probably down here shagging like rabbits. I've been teased enough for one afternoon, eh?"

Amélie nodded and Lena let her up to change clothes. She smiled as she stripped, but made sure not to get Lena hot and bothered. For the most part, Lena stayed sitting on the bench as the catsuit was removed and the workout clothes were put on. Amélie did notice the girl drinking her body in with dilated eyes, but Lena behaved.

"They don't honestly think we have sex all the time, do they?" Amélie asked pulling her tank top over her chest.

"Well, not all the time," Lena replied with a little color to her freckles.

" _Mon dieu_ , I think they just fantasize."

"I can't say I blame them, baby," Lena said wiggling her eyebrows. "I mean have you seen yourself? _tu es très belle_!"

Amélie looked at the Brit with wide amazed eyes and a smile spread on her full lips. " _Très bon, mon chérie,_ " she said as she kissed Lena's adorably proud face. "You will be spouting French poetry to me in no time."

"Well, you have been really good at teaching me to do beautiful things with my mouth," Lena said sensually licking Amélie's bottom lip.

The French woman purred deeply before caressing Lena's cheek. "We'd better behave before they really do think we are shagging down here."

Lena laughed as she helped put away the training gear. "Call me crazy, but I love the way you say 'shag'. It's adorable."

3

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar, dusk_

Widowmaker sat on the ledge of one of the high points of Watchpoint watching the sun slip lazily down the horizon. She had slipped off to have some time to think and decided that the fresh air would help. Lena was off having her routine physical and examination and tune up for her accelerator.

She kept within any cameras so Athena knew she was on base. It had been a while since her recruitment into the newly reformed Overwatch but Amélie also didn't want to take any chances and made sure the others knew she was loyal and trustworthy.

The breeze was cool and comforting especially at this height and she was able to scan the hills and valleys surrounding the hidden base. There was no impending threats she knew, but she also knew Talon had been here once before when they tried to hack Athena for names and locations of all Overwatch agents either active or inactive for whatever purpose. At the failed attempt – and the loss of no less than about a dozen troops led by Reaper himself – Talon was probably sure that a renewed strike would be counterproductive. They had only been fought off by one Overwatch agent. A renewed attack would pit them against at least a dozen or so top agents. If they couldn't hold their own against Winston – no matter if he was a huge gorilla or not – they couldn't hope to tackle a larger number of well trained Overwatch agents.

Her thoughts dissipated with the smell of a strong, spicy cigar. It peaked some responses and memories of men's laughter and celebratory cheers. She opened her eyes at the sound of a boot scuff near her.

"Hey there, Frenchie," Jesse McCree said cordially as he sat down next to her. "You gettin' some air? You don't mind if I join ya, do ya?"

" _Boujour_ , Cowboy," Amélie replied with a smile. " _Non_ , your company is always good."

He slowly blew a smoke ring as he took the cigar from his mouth. He raised an eyebrow in question as Amélie plucked it up and took a large puff from it.

"These are actually quite good," she said as smoke curled around them. She looked at the cigar before handing it back to Jesse. "They bring back memories of victories. I can recall the cheers and feelings of accomplishment when smelling the smoke from this."

"Yeah," Jesse said smiling and looking at the cigar with fondness. "Funny, I actually got Gérard to try these Cubans. He was so used to smoking those little ones. I don't recall what he called them now..."

"Cigarillos," Amélie said with a small laugh. "I used to smoke cigarettes and he actually talked me into quitting the habit."

"Ah," Jesse said. "I'm guessin' your memories are returning more and more, eh?"

Amélie shrugged. "Little tidbits here and there. Mostly with some sort of stimulant. A picture, smell, feeling … something to trigger."

Jesse nodded and puffed on the cigar once more. "I've been meanin' to ask you some stuff," he said looking at the setting sun turn the sky a brilliant orange. "If you don't remember or it's uncomfortable, I'll understand of course."

Amélie looked to him and met his eyes. "Ah you wish to engage in deep conversation?" her smile was teasing and got a similar smile from McCree.

"Well, nothing to get Lena all riled up if that's what you mean."

They both chuckled at that before Amélie replied. "I'll see if I can help then," she said.

"OK," Jesse said as he thought about how to ask. "Have you ever heard of Blackwatch?"

Amélie thought for a moment but the name only registered a small spark in her memory. "I don't recall anything definite but the name sounds vaguely familiar. Was Gérard a part of it?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that," Jesse said. "Blackwatch was sorta' the 'dark side' of Overwatch. Gérard was more a thinker than a fighter. Now, don't get me wrong, Gérard knew his way around a gun and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty if necessary, but he wasn't always in the thick of things. Blackwatch was the kind of division that took care of the real nasty stuff, if you know what I mean."

"Ah, so, espionage, infiltration, extraction, and assassination, _oui_?"

Jesse nodded and tapped the side of his nose. "Sometimes, you gotta do some bad things for the greater good of everything," he said.

Amélie nodded. "This was one of the reasons why people stopped trusting the Overwatch program and the politicians and people turned against them even after the Omnic Crisis, _non_?"

"Exactly," Jesse sighed. "It's like people want a sparkling clean surface but they don't want to admit that bleach and cleaning chemicals kill bacteria and germs in order to make that clean sparkling surface."

"They don't understand the details," Amélie agreed.

"Well, that being said, How much do you remember of your training at Talon?" Jesse puffed on his cigar as he looked at her.

Amélie thought on it. "I was groomed to be Widowmaker from the very beginning since the kidnapping," she replied. "Much of it was subliminal in nature, directly uploaded to training programming during my conditioning to where my skills would be second nature and more instinctual than actual training. I did not attend a boot camp or anything like that."

Jesse sighed and she looked his direction. "I was not a normal soldier," she went on. "I am, more or less, a weapon in body and mind. Why do you ask?"

"I had a run in with Talon once," McCree said watching the sun dip further. "It was on a train of all things and one of the troops recognized me. Not only that, but their fighting techniques were … familiar."

"Ah, so you were part of this 'Blackwatch'." Amélie said. It was more a statement than a question.

"Yup," Jesse said quietly. "And let me tell you, our training was much more like yours than, say, Lena's."

"Lena would go to an extraction or rescue operation but they wouldn't send her in to assassinate an arms dealer or particularly troublesome warmonger who was threatening a country," Amélie said.

"Exactly," Jesse said.

"How many Blackwatch agents are still active?" Amélie asked.

"That's just it," Jesse replied with a worried tone. "Blackwatch was disbanded along with Overwatch and when the Big Guy made the Overwatch recall, well, only Overwatch reformed."

"But someone is passing along training secrets of a black ops division that is supposed to be dead and buried," Amélie nodded as she understood. "As I stated, I was not your normal 'soldier', but neither was Reaper or Sombra."

"Sombra is mostly behind the scene though, she doesn't actually get into the fight, right?"

"She can hold her own, "Amélie replied. "But she is not normally in the field in person, _non_. She handles intelligence, counter-intelligence, and data transfers."

"And Reaper, he's what?" Jesse turned to her, "a general or commanding officer or…?"

Amélie tilted her head, thinking. "He is a high ranking agent in charge of certain operations. He sometimes goes on small missions – like when he and I were at the Overwatch museum to steal Doomfist – or he leads bands of troops like he did when he came here to try and extract Overwatch personnel data."

"Do you know who he is?"

" _Non_ ," Amélie sighed. "I never saw his face. Sombra might know but what she does with information that isn't contracted is her business and she doesn't freely share."

"Gotcha," Jesse sighed. "I don't think Sombra could have gotten hold of any of our old training data."

" _Non_ ," Amélie agreed. "She would have to find a way through Athena's defenses and since Athena is a strong AI, that would be very difficult … even for Sombra."

"Hmm," Jesse said. "Someone got a hold of it. Either that or Talon has an old friend on their payroll."

"It is entirely possible," Amélie said sadly. "One only has to look at me and what I've become."

Jesse gave her a good-natured bump on the shoulder. "Aww, c'mon, Frenchie" he said with a light tone. "Just cause your skin's blue don't mean your mood has to match."

"I don't mean to be a downer," Amélie said. "I just feel guilty for the things I have done. The things I _enjoyed_ doing."

"I done things I ain't proud of too," Jesse said as he flicked away the stub of the cigar. "Worst part is I chose to do those things and you didn't. But, I'll tell ya what, Frenchie," he looked her in the eyes and Amélie was surprised to see the same look as her own. It was like two predators realizing they were equal in strength and cunning. "We're both killers. We do what we had to do. You got forced against your will but now, being on our side, I guarantee you won't be killin' no one that don't deserve to have a bullet between the eyes. And if you feel good putting that bullet there, then you do it knowing you're doing it for all the right reasons."

They sat looking at each other's eyes until the sun finally set and the outer perimeter lights blinked on. She nodded and he nodded back.

"I know you got Lena, but know you got me too," Jesse said quietly. "I'm glad to know I got you watching my ass."

"Birds of a feather?"

"Hell yeah," he said and matched her wide smile with one of his own. "Let's go grab some grub before Reinhardt decides he wants thirds or fourths."

The two laughed as they made their way down.

4

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar, the next morning_

Lena felt warm and languid as something brushed her bangs from her face. The touch was cool as if someone had been outside in the cold with no mittens, but it brought a smile to her face. She opened one eye and focused on a warm golden gaze and slender blue fingers that traced her freckles and cheek as she smiled.

"You always wake up before me," she whispered.

"I think it is part of my conditioning," Amélie whispered back. "I do try to sleep longer but … I don't think I need much rest the way my body is."

"Mmmm," Lena hummed as both her eyes opened to look upon her lover's face as she sat up and rested her head with her elbow. "Do you just watch me sleep then?"

" _Oui_ ," Amélie replied running her index finger slowly down Lena's chin and chest. "You are so angelic when you sleep. Only your snoring and a small amount of drool on the pillow."

Lena laughed and playfully slapped at her. "I do _not_ snore," she giggled and Amélie joined. "and I only drool because I'm in bed with an absolute goddess."

They kissed good morning and snuggled a bit more as Amélie played with Lena's hair.

"You keep doing that, love, and I'll fall back asleep in your arms again," Lena chuckled.

"Ah, but if you fall back to sleep, you can't have coffee," Amélie whispered as she kissed Lena's forehead. "Nor can I make you my special toast … French toast … with actual French bread. The others will smell it cooking and eat it all before you can get there."

Lena lifted up and kissed Amélie on the nose. "You certainly know how to motivate a girl," Lena said cheerfully. "I'll mix the eggs and milk."

"OK, let's go before everyone starts making their way to the break room."

They dressed quickly and hurried to the break room. Coffee was brewing and Lena mixed eggs with milk as Amélie sliced the large loaf of French bread into nice, thick slices. They chatted and joked while they cooked. They had begun to pile some slices of French toast on plates when Ana stumbled in.

Lena started to greet the older agent when she saw that Ana's eyes were wide open as if in shock and she was pale and moving unsteadily on her feet.

"Oh, my God, Ana!?" Lena said rushing over to her. "What is it, love? Are you alright?"

Amélie turned off the stove and rushed to take the other woman's arm as Lena pulled out a chair. Ana turned and looked at Amélie and then Lena before she stuttered out something in Arabic and her eyes rolled up in her head. Amélie was able to let her down at the table easily as the woman went limp.

"Oh my God!" Lena exclaimed. "Is she alright?"

Amélie felt for a pulse and nodded. "She's fainted."

About that time, Fareeha came rushing into the break room and squeaked in alarm. She was wearing what looked to be a bathrobe and some slippers. "Mama?" she said rushing to her mother's side. "Mama! Oh, Mama!"

She looked around fearfully and finally her eyes settled on Lena. "Is she alright?"

"Ame says she fainted," Lena said equally freaked out. "What the hell happened? We need to get..."

Angela Ziegler came bursting into the room calling for both Fareeha and Ana. She too was in a bathrobe and slippers. Upon seeing them both, her first reaction was relief at finding them and then horror at seeing Ana slumped over at the table with Amélie keeping her in the chair.

" _Mein Gott_!" Angela said rushing over to Ana.

"She's fainted," Amélie stated calmly as she was the only one in the room not able to completely freak out at what was happening.

Angela turned to Fareeha and then stood quickly. "I'll … I'll get my smelling salts. Just keep her sitting and I'll be right back!" she said before rushing out of the room.

"Fareeha," Lena said as the other woman crossed her arms and sighed. "What's going on? Is Ana feeling ok?"

"I'm sure she'll be fine … eventually," Fareeha replied looking back at Lena with worried eyes. "She caught Angela and me."

"Caught you?"

Fareeha sighed and rolled her eyes before locking gazes with Lena. "We were … in bed together," Fareeha said deflated.

Lena hoped Angela returned quickly with those smelling salts because she had started to feel faint too.


	5. Chapter 5

The Talk part 5

1

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar, earlier in the morning_

She couldn't believe they were doing this. It felt like a dream. As Angela looked into those soulful brown eyes, so dark and beautiful, she could feel her own blue ones floating like stars in an endless night. Fareeha's lips were soft and smooth as was the expanse of chocolate colored skin, touched by the Egyptian sun. Her body was a perfect landscape of hills and valleys where muscles, honed from rigorous training and exercise, flowed into satiny lines, long limbs, and curves that were all feminine.

Fareeha thought the same of the Swiss angel in her arms. Angela's hair was like a golden halo when it was worn down and fell over her slender shoulders and back. Her milky skin was like the finest porcelain and smooth as if she were carved of marble. Angela also made the most wondrous sounds when Fareeha kissed her neck. Her chest rose and fell as Fareeha's warm lips trailed down her chest and the flat planes of her tummy, the golden beads in her ebony hair leaving cooling touches in her wake.

They had spent the night together. It was the first time they had and it was special. Neither had any idea that they could feel this way with another woman. No other woman meant so much to them. They had woken up in each other's arms and there was nothing but bliss, free and pure, opening their eyes to see the beauty of each other, warm and entangled, beneath cool sheets.

Their good morning kisses turned hungry as they touched with mumbled sounds of endearment as words became too much to process in light of the emotions and passion they both felt this morning. It had taken years to understand and such an agonizingly long time to realize that this was what they had wanted. As lips touched and tongues caressed soft various parts of their anatomy, Angela and Fareeha gave themselves to their lover like gifts presented before a goddess. And that's how they felt, like an angel and a goddess. No one knowing of the secret dance they shared that started several days before when confessions and a first kiss were shared in the medical bay. Only Athena had witnessed it, and she was not telling.

As Fareeha moved over Angela, sliding her smooth thigh deliciously between Angela's legs while lining up her own wanting sex to Angela's trembling limbs, a gasp was heard. At first the women thought it came from one another, but when their eyes locked in question, they suddenly realized the sound had not come from their lover's lips. Slowly, Fareeha turned her head towards the door and Angela looked up from her prone position to discover, to their shared horror, they not only had forgotten to lock the door when they started this rendezvous, but Ana Amari had come by and discovered more than the door to her daughter's room unlocked.

No one moved for several moments as Ana's eyes widened almost comically and Angela and Fareeha froze. The heat of passion melted into cold terror as Ana slowly lifted a trembling hand to her astonished mouth as she backed away slowly and closed the door behind her retreat.

Fareeha looked at Angela whose eyes were nearly as wide, wondering beyond any rationality if the doctor had seen what she had seen or if it was some sort of illusion. Those frightened illogical fantasies shattered as Angela cursed under her breath.

"We..." Fareeha started. "We should … oh my God, Angela … she..."

As one, they scrambled up from the bed, trying to find any clothing they could throw on in a hurry to go after a very distraught mother while also holding onto what decency they still had left.

"Scheisse, scheisse, scheisse!" Angela kept muttering as she pulled a tank top from the floor and started to put it on before she realized it was Fareeha's.

Thinking time was of the essence, Fareeha grabbed her night robe and handed Angela the bathrobe. Screw modesty, it was early morning and if anyone had a problem, they could worry about it later. After putting on some panties – they really didn't stop to think whose were whose as they thrust their legs into them and pulled them over to cover what they could – they donned the robes and ran out into the hall, looking frantically for the shocked, and possibly horrified, Ana Amari.

"I'll check this way, you go that way," Angela said and the women split up. Fareeha called for her mother, looking in each hall and open room. She saw Angela down the hall but her lover hadn't found her mother either. How can a woman in shock move so fast? Fareeha wondered.

Then she heard voices in the break room. The familiar accent of Lena and a soft murmur that had to be Amélie. Maybe they had seen Ana. Fareeha made a motion to Angela down the hall and made her way quickly to the break room.

Ana was slumped at one of the tables, Amélie holding her up to keep from spilling to the floor and Lena crouched nearby. "She's fainted," she heard the French woman say calmly.

2

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar Present Time_

"You … what?" Lena said shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm sorry, but the situation has me a little scatter-brained, love. Did you say Captain Amari, your mother, caught you in _bed_ with _Angela_?"

The Egyptian took a deep breath and raised her chin proudly. One thing Lena had always admired about Fareeha was she had her pride and owned up to her decisions. "Angela and I are lovers," she announced with determination and a little pride. "We discovered our feelings for each other a few days ago and last night was the first time we … ah … consummated."

"Well, how the bloody hell did your mother catch you two playing doctor?" Lena asked.

Fareeha was about to answer when Angela came rushing in with a small med bag in her hand. Her expression of urgency morphed into slight outrage at Lena as she tossed her bag on the table and started rummaging in it.

"That is not funny, Oxton!" She huffed and blew a stand of hair from her face as she pulled out a couple of smelling salts. "Fareeha and I shared something wonderful, if you must know, and you will absolutely not cheapen it by calling it 'playing doctor'."

Lena held up her hands warding off any of Angela's slight admonishment. "Ok, ok," she said. "Just trying to diffuse the bomb."

"We were so caught up in the moment, I guess we forgot to lock the door," Fareeha answered Lena's previous question. She sighed and shook her head. "When she wakes, there is going to be a storm of epic proportions."

"Do you want me to hold her back when she regains consciousness?" Amélie asked.

"No, I don't think she'll attack me," Angela said, breaking open a smelling salt container and pausing before lowering it. "At least I hope she won't."

She waved the small container under the older woman's nose. Ana's eyes flew open and she jerked back and away from the strong smell with a cough. Her composure was one of surprise and confusion as she looked around the room.

"W-what? Where … where am I?" she stuttered out looking at everyone. It was then she noticed Fareeha in a night robe and her face changed. All who were present noticed the look of realization and, finally, anger as her eye settled on Angela. Fareeha moved quickly and silently to Angela's side.

"You!" Ana said through clenched teeth. "Just what the hell do you think you are doing with my Fareeha?"

Angela was not one for conflicts, either physical or social, and she visibly shook at the aggression that radiated from Captain Amari. She felt so frail and small until Fareeha put a comforting arm around the Swiss woman's waist.

"We didn't want anyone to know just yet," Fareeha started to explain, but her mother wasn't listening.

"How could you?" Ana Amari said with a strained voice. It took a moment for Fareeha to realize she was still speaking to Angela. "That is my _daughter_! My _only daughter_! How could you do something like that to her?"

"Now, Ana," Lena said with a charming smile. "I think you are just shocked at catching them shag-"

Ana turned to the young Brit with a fire in her eye and a grimace that silenced the young woman with a squeak of alarm. Lena started to back away as Ana looked as if she were going to step towards her and then, suddenly, all she saw were blue shoulders and long black hair.

Ana actually jumped as two golden eyes, glittering like a hungry lioness, met hers and a cold cruel face of blue filled her vision. It sobered her her anger like ice to the flames of hell. She didn't feel hot, however. Instead, her veins ran with ice that flowed like numbing rivers of fear with her rapid heartbeat. The Widowmaker didn't blink and didn't move. She was a statue of malice and the silent promise of death standing protectively in front of Lena.

No one moved as Ana and Amélie stood, eye to eye. Lena started to touch Amélie's shoulder when the woman spoke.

"Lena and I were making breakfast," she said in a slow, methodical voice. "We still have some bread, milk, and eggs left. Perhaps you would like to join us?"

Ana stood for a moment and finally blinked. She glanced at Fareeha and Angela who stood perfectly still at each other's side before looking back at Amélie.

"No, thank you," she said with a resigned sigh. "I'm sure the French toast is superb but I'm not hungry."

She turned and walked out without looking back. Angela started to go after her, but Fareeha stopped her and simply shook her head. Amélie sighed and her face changed to one of sympathy. Gone was the cold Widowmaker and Angela and Fareeha looked at Amélie Lacroix once more.

Amélie turned to Lena and kissed her temple before going back to the stove and starting the cooking fire again.

Lena cleared her throat. "You two could use something to eat," she said. "Ame and I don't mind the company and besides, I'm still itching to hear the story of this interesting development."

"I suppose we could," Angela said leaning against Fareeha who kissed her head.

"We should probably get dressed first," Fareeha suggested.

Lena smiled a mischievous grin. "I dunno I think that bathrobe is smashing."

That brought a smile to Fareeha's face and a small laugh from Angela.

"Alright," Angela agreed. "I'm actually curious as to Amélie's cooking." She turned to the French woman who was dipping more bread into the batter before asking "Is that actual French bread?"

" _Oui_ ," Amélie said with a smile and an arched eyebrow.

"OK," Angela said taking Fareeha's hand. "We'll be back in five minutes. Don't let Lena use all the syrup."

3

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar, 3:00 PM_

Lena and Amélie made their way through the halls to the Forge where Torbjörn had said he wanted to test out what he had been working on for their newest recruit. Amélie felt a little thrill at being able to get her equipment. It might not be her original Widow's Kiss or infrared visor, but it was a step in the right direction for her to be back in action – for herself this time – and prove how valuable she could be to Overwatch. She also had to admit she looked forward to working with Lena. It would be a welcome change to fight _with_ the girl instead of against her.

She glanced over at her bubbly partner-in-crime to find Lena almost skipping with glee. Her face was bright as always and it looked as if she could barely contain her smile. Amélie remembered Emily's words from their talk about Lena being infectious with her happiness and how she could make you smile no matter what. She had been right.

"You seem more excited than me, _chérie_ ," Amélie said giving Lena a sideways glance.

"Well yeah," Lena practically giggled. "You're going to get new toys to play with. Do you know what this means?"

"Looks like we will be working together this time?"

"Yes – and I'm very happy about that, by the way – but it also means they are getting used to you. You're becoming one of us, part of the team!"

Amélie thought about that and nodded. " _Oui_ ," she replied. "It will take some time before they trust me completely I supposed, but I feel as if I am part of the team as you say."

Lena hugged Amélie with an enthusiastic embrace that made the French woman huff and little but found adorable.

"You already have their attention," Lena said. "They are curious about you to say the least and not just Widowmaker or what you can do, but who you are. Have they helped you remember anything recently?"

Amélie thought about it. "Ah, Jesse asked me about something called Blackwatch yesterday," she replied. "I had heard of the name but I couldn't recall any details."

"Oh wow," Lena said with a hushed whisper. "Well, Blackwatch was kind of Overwatch's more … ah … secretive operations."

" _Oui_ ," Amélie said without any visible reaction. "Things like what I used to do for Talon. Jesse confirmed this to a certain extent."

"I dunno what he was asking for but I guarantee we won't be remaking Blackwatch," Lena said. "For one thing, it was those operations that fueled the fire that burned us. That and Reyes was a right bastard."

"Reyes?"

"Gabriel Reyes," Lena nodded. "He was the leader of Blackwatch at the time. That guy didn't just kill, steal, and destroy, he enjoyed doing those things."

Amélie looked at Lena and the British girl suddenly realized what she was implying.

"No, I know what you're thinking," Lena said as she stopped Amélie and looked her in the eyes. "Jesse was not asking you because he thought you'd be interested in being an assassin for Overwatch. And we certainly know you don't enjoy doing black ops of your own free will and would never use that or exploit your 'treatments' for our own gains. We don't do that which is why we won't be bringing back Blackwatch."

"I know what you mean," Amélie said. "And I know why Jesse was asking and it was not for that."

"Why was he asking then?"

"Something about how he had fought Talon agents once and they recognized him and used tactics that seemed familiar to him."

"So he thinks Talon may somehow have some connection to the old Blackwatch?"

"Something like that," Amélie said. "Since I am the only former Talon operative on the payroll, so to speak, he asked if I had some insight."

They started walking again. Amélie noticed Lena chewing her lip. She found the woman did that when she was thinking hard.

"I told him my training was mostly virtual or subliminal," Amélie told Lena. "I was not a normal Talon operative. They groomed me to be Widowmaker from the beginning."

"Ah," Lena said. "Meaning if they do have any Blackwatch training, they taught you on a different level than the regular troops."

" _Exactement_ ," Amélie replied. She too thought for a moment. "Maybe Jesse should sit in the next time we do training exercises and see if any of my training looks familiar to him."

Lena smiled. "Great idea, love," she said. "And hopefully Torb's new stuff will have you in top form without having to compensate."

" _Oui_ ," Amélie said with a smile that showed Lena she was getting a little excited about having familiar equipment at her disposal again.

The doors opened with a slight whoosh and the women were greeted by Reinhardt who stood to the side with his arms crossed as Torbjörn tinkered and chatted away in German.

"Ah, good you're here," Torb said, switching to English. "I had to make some stuff from scratch but there were some diagnostics Athena had stashed away from former Overwatch archives for weapons and equipment we dug up and improvised upon."

He made his way to a shelf and pulled off a wide, thin case which he sat on a table nearby as Amélie approached. She smiled as he spread his hands in a "tada" fashion, presenting it to her.

Amélie opened the case to find a mat black rife, broken down for easy carry, along with a scope. Her eyes glittered as she looked at the weapon.

"May I?" she asked.

"Of course," Torb answered.

Torb, Reinhardt, and Lena watched with a little awe as Amélie took out each part and assembled the sniper rifle in less than two minutes before checking to make sure the chamber was empty and raising it to her shoulder to check the scope and feel.

"It is nice," Amélie purred and Lena couldn't stop the thrill she felt at hearing her girlfriend's pleased voice. "Light weight and easily assembled and broken down for quick use. Very nice, Torb."

"It has two ammo chambers and two modes," Torb pointed at various parts of the rifle. "Your sniper ammo fits here in either a cylinder or manual feed at the top and your close range, submachine gun ammo goes in a clip here at the bottom. Cylinder holds eight rounds of high velocity armor piercing ammunition, submachine gun clip holds three hundred rounds. With the way you shoot, that should be more than enough even on extended missions. The switch between sniper mode and submachine gun is there by the trigger and safety."

Amélie tested switching between modes and was pleased to find it could be done in a quick fluid motion. "I shall keep it well oiled and cared for, Torb," she said lovingly patting the rifle. " _Merci beaucoup_."

"If you love the rifle, then you're gonna really love this," Torb said with pride. He motioned to a higher shelf and Reinhardt pulled down another box and handed it to his shorter friend.

Torb set the box on the table and ripped it open like a Christmas present before bringing out a black visor with eight red lenses adorning the rounded top and sides. "This was a real doozy to build as your visor was pretty much scrapped and left behind. That and it was completely Talon technology."

"You hacked some of Talon's data?" Lena asked shocked.

"Naw," Torb answered with a wave of his hand. "You'd be surprised what you can find on the internet nowadays especially with Athena helping you out."

He handed the visor to Amélie who placed it snugly on her head. She looked about and the sides slid over her eyes as if by magic. " _Parfait_ ," Amélie said.

"If you think about different modes, it can zoom in and out as well as switch from Infrared to X-ray and ultraviolet. The sensors in the sides at your temples should react to your brainwaves as well as allow the lenses to activate or deactivate with just a thought. Kinda like using your own eyes. Also, there is an intercom link and mic on the side that can be turned on and off manually or voice activated."

Amélie switched between modes and smiled when she looked at Lena.

"Don't be trying to X-ray through my clothes," Lena said playfully scolding the French woman who only chuckled in response.

The sides slid back in place. "Very nice Torb," Amélie said. "I look forward to testing these out. The visor responds very well and the modes are superb. _Merci beaucoup_."

Torb also showed her a work station he had made especially for her to make her own sniper ammo as well as her own spider mines. Amélie reminded him that Widow Venom needed to be placed in a cool dry place and could be volatile if left out in the open. Torb only smiled and said "Oh, we already have a little nook for that" before showing her a locked chemical safe and had her try out the combination.

"Another thing about the visor is it has an emergency link to Athena," Torbjörn was telling her as she broke her rifle down and packed it away. "That way if there's an emergency, it will alert Athena to to location in seconds and the signal is transmitted in four different waves so it is nigh impossible to jam."

"So I can always call for back up in case we get into trouble," Amélie said with a nod. "Very good."

"You've really outdone yourself, Torb," Lena said. "They aren't even for me and I love the new stuff."

Torb blushed a bit. "Aww," he said. "Now you gone and made an old man blush, you rascal."

"We should schedule a time for a training exercise so we can test these out," Amélie said. "And see if McCree is available to sit in."

"Right," Lena said. "You coming to watch your handiwork in action?" she asked Torb.

"Wouldn't miss it," Torb replied.

Amélie thanked him again. "We'll let you know when the show begins," she grinned and gave Torb a chaste kiss on the forehead. " _Merci beaucoup_ once again."

"Aww," he said turning a brilliant shade of red. "Now I'm really blushing. My wife would kill me."

4

 _Watchtower Gibraltar, later that day_

Lena and Amélie had talked with Jesse about sitting in one a training exercise. He thought it was a good idea too. Even though he hadn't been sniper trained, he could still see how Amélie's training was and see if anything familiar occurred. The two women had just started to the training area when Ana appeared and handed Amélie a box of training ammo.

"These are more or less pellets for practicing your accuracy at target practice," she told Amélie as a quick explanation before turning to Lena. "Do you mind if I borrow your girl for a while?"

Lena shrugged. "If that's you're way of saying you're going to have 'girl talk', then sure."

Ana smiled, surprisingly, and nodded. "I think target practice while chatting is better than painting each other's toenails and braiding each other's hair."

The women giggled at that and Lena gave Amélie a loving squeeze on her arm.

" _à bientôt_ ," she said with a wink and Amélie smiled.

" _très bon, chérie_ ," she nodded impressed.

"I'm still working on the poetry part," Lena said as she disappeared down the hall.

With that, Ana and Amélie walked into the observation room above the training area. Ana gave some instructions to Athena about sniper training level six and then the two made their way down to the training arena below.

"I want to apologize for my behavior this morning," Ana said.

Amélie seemed surprised by this. Ana was going through a lot and, from what she remembered of the Captain and knew of her now, having a heart to heart was a rarity. Especially rare for her to have this kind of conversation with Amélie.

They picked out training rifles and made their way deeper, loading the weapons as they walked.

"I was in such shock," Ana said. "I didn't even know Fareeha was with someone and then to find out it was Ziegler? That was just too much for early in the morning."

"Why were you at her room so early?" Amélie asked as she helped the other woman make her way atop one of the higher surfaces.

"It's been a while since I really spent time with her," Ana replied. "After our little run-in, and me playing dead, well, I haven't been able to reconnect with her. I think she is still a little in shock that I am alive and a little angry with me that I kept it a secret."

"She has to understand, this is dangerous work," Amélie said as a target popped up two hundred yards away and she popped it with a quick pull of her trigger as Ana mirrored the action half a second later. Both hit the target and it disappeared. "Talon had sent me there specifically to take you out. You know how I was trained. If you hadn't have stayed down, I would have hunted you. Talon designed me to be flawless and failure was not an option."

Another target appeared and Ana and Amélie shot at the same time, both hitting the target dead center.

"True," Ana said frowning. "I hadn't even realized that I had gotten Talon's attention."

"It wasn't just you," Amélie said sadly. "I was given specific names of targets that were to be eliminated immediately if sighted. Those targets were you, Morrison, Reinhardt, Torbjörn, and Lena."

Another target and another twin pops took it out.

"That's all the remaining original Overwatch agents," Ana said in a hushed whisper.

"I know that now," Amélie replied. "At the time, I hadn't any memory of any of you and Talon hadn't informed me of any connection to you except that you were Overwatch."

"Does Talon know of any of our newer agents or allies?" Ana asked as she swung and shot a target to their left. Amélie hadn't fired. Ana realized the assassin had closed her eyes and was thinking hard.

" _Non_ ," Amélie said opening her eyes. Another target popped up and she took it out with a speed a fluidity that Ana admired. She could see the ballet influence in the woman's movements as she practiced next to her. It brought a lump to her throat to realize that Widowmaker still had some of her former self mixed in with the Talon assassin.

"I think that is what they sent Reaper here for," she added. "I do not think Talon knows who is left of the original Overwatch nor any new recruits or allies. Like Fareeha for instance. They may have encountered her as when she, Winston, Angela, and Lena extracted me from Japan, but outside of a codename, face, and basic fighting tactics, Talon knows nothing."

Another target popped up and both women shot it down this time.

"That is good news," Ana said. "Really, you have no idea how relieved I am that they know little about her or anyone else."

"So am I," Amélie replied. "I am starting to remember faces and names. Fleeting memories to be sure, but memories nonetheless."

"Although you weren't an agent, per say, you were still one of us, Amélie," Ana said and both of them took out another target, this one was lower and to the right. "You were never just Gérard's wife. You were part of our family."

Amélie looked at the older woman and Ana was taken aback by the emotion in her gold eyes.

" _Merci beaucoup_ ," Amélie said softly. "I know it must be hard accepting Widowmaker in your ranks after all Talon made me do. It must be especially hard to realize what they did to someone whom you all cared for so much."

Ana patted her arm. "Now you know why I was so shocked when I saw you and why it hurt more than just this scratch you gave me. I wasn't just injured, I was terrified."

"I scared Lena too," Amélie said sighing. "She looked so … hurt … at King's Row. It scared her to think I was truly lost. Emily had told me I had broken Lena's heart that night. That I had not only hurt her by killing someone she looked up to, but that I didn't show any signs of being Amélie anymore at all. Emily had said that was what hurt her most."

"You did eventually come to though, obviously," Ana said.

" _Oui_ ," Amélie replied. "Who knew that an annoying girl like Lena Oxton could break through high level conditioning and almost completely flawless brainwashing?"

Ana laughed good and loud at that, which made Amélie chuckle as well.

"So you really love her, don't you?" Ana said and Amélie knew there was much more to the woman's question.

" _Oui_ ," Amélie said. "I never knew I could even feel that way about another woman. If fact, I had never been with a woman until Lena nor am I attracted like this to any other woman. She's special. I was married to Gérard and he was wonderful. I can't remember many details of him but I remember feeling warm and happy. I feel that same way when I am with Lena."

Amélie looked at Ana with a serious but emotional gaze. "You don't honestly think Angela would take advantage of your daughter do you?"

Ana swallowed and sighed. "No, I know she wouldn't," she replied. "It's just seeing her with her friend, whom she has known since she was old enough to even like boys much less a girl, doing … ugh! Of all the ways to discover that your daughter is not only involved with a woman but to catch them having sex..."

"Almost as shocking as having your eye shot out by the shy wife of your beloved friend whom you thought was dead?"

Ana huffed a wry laugh. "That would be putting it mildly," she replied. "I'm getting too old for this stuff."

They stood and walked back to the changing area to clean and return the rifles.

"You don't really mind if Fareeha and Angela are intimate do you?" Amélie asked.

"No, I have no problem with preferences," Ana said. "It's just a little shocking to find out that your daughter is gay. I mean, she's only dated three boys that I know of and one boyfriend that I don't even know if it should count since she was twelve."

Amélie laughed. "Maybe she is like me then," she said. "Maybe she's not into women exactly. She's just into Angela."

Ana thought about that. "This may be true," she said.

"I think, if it is like Lena and me, it probably took some time to realize her feelings and, how you say, come to grips with them," Amélie said. "Until recently, Lena was nothing more than my enemy. She annoyed me, angered me, and made me sloppy. I absolutely hated her … or so I thought. Then, I started getting excited to see her … fight and taunt with her. I had no idea it was more flirting and courting than actually fighting. The lines blurred and I ended up falling for her.

"She had always liked me, she has said so, but this was new and confusing for me. Especially when you consider the conditioning that was done to me. She not only delivered me from my own darkness but opened me up to something wonderful I didn't even know I could have."

Ana was quiet. "I should talk to Fareeha," she said as they locked up the training rifles. "I should especially talk to Angela. She probably thinks I want to kill her."

Amélie chuckled at that. "Talking is good," she replied. "Speaking of Angela, why have you never asked her to take care of," Amélie paused and pointed at her right eye, "that scratch?"

Ana waved it away. "Ah, it is an old injury and, besides, that eye was cybernetic. I'd be better off talking to Torbjörn about replacing it than Angela."

"Well, she could also help with some augmentations and other treatments," Amélie suggested.

"Are you saying I'm getting old, Mademoiselle?" Ana said with a teasing look and a pointing finger.

Amélie laughed and held up her hands. " _Non_ , I would never do that, _mon Capitaine_! You are quick and accurate with your shots but it wouldn't hurt to tweak some of your performance. I don't suggest suppressed cardio or respiratory augmentations, but perhaps having two eyes would improve things a bit, _non_?"

Ana thought a bit and nodded. "Maybe I can see what Angela can do," she smiled. "And it will definitely give me to opportunity to find out how she went from being my daughter's best friend to her girlfriend."

5

 _Watchtower Gibraltar, later that day_

Ana took a deep breath. She had put this off for too long already and chided herself on being a foolish old woman. She loved Angela like her own daughter already and always had. This was just stupid to act in such a manner.

She came into the medical bay to find Angela sitting with Fareeha. They were chatting while Angela checked her pulse and Ana found it a bit amusing that Fareeha had a thermometer in her mouth. She almost swallowed that thermometer when she saw who had entered the bay. Angela even jumped back as if Ana had caught them having sex again.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Ana said waving away their reactions. "You girls don't have to jump every time I come around."

They looked at each other and visibly relaxed. Ana took a seat on a nearby bed and folded her hands in her lap.

"What can I do for you, Captain?" Angela asked.

Ana rolled her eyes at the formality. "First off, we aren't on a mission or anything, Angela, so you can relax and stop calling me Captain like your in boot camp or something."

Angela blushed. She looked flustered.

"I came to talk," Ana said simply. "And it is a good thing both of you are here because you both need to hear this."

They stared at her and Ana started to say something when she noticed Fareeha still had a thermometer in her mouth. She motioned to it and Angela took it out with a little "oh, right".

"Anyways," Ana started. "I'm sorry. I should have knocked or something but when I saw the door was unlocked, I didn't know if Fareeha was even in her room and then, seeing you two in the … well, 'throes of passion' like you were sailors on leave..."

"Mama!" Fareeha said with a shocked gasp. Angela looked mortified and blushed all the way to the roots of her hair.

Ana sighed. "Oh, girls, I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just trying to say I'm a cranky, nosy fool who loves her daughter and was just not ready for what I saw. I overreacted and I'm sorry for making you feel as if it's not alright for you two to be … ugh, this was a lot easier to say in my head..." she paused for a moment to think of the right words before saying "lovers" with a shudder.

Angela and Fareeha looked at each other before Ana continued. "I'm a lousy hypocrite for even suggesting that you should keep something like this a secret when I pretended to be dead for years and left you thinking that. It wasn't right and you should not be ashamed or sneaking around trying to hide that you two are together now. I just never saw you two becoming intimate is all. I am still getting used to Amélie being here, and with Lena no less, and this sort of blindsided me."

Fareeha and Angela sat silent for a moment. Ana was about to let her words stew and leave it at that when her daughter spoke.

"I knew it was going to be a shocker at first, Mama," she said. "truth be told, Angela and I discovered we had felt this way for a very long time and just didn't know how to face it. It's still somewhat of a shock to us too. I don't want you to think we are just messing around here. Angela means a lot to me and she always has."

"Same here, Ana," Angela said as she slipped an arm around the beautiful Egyptian. "You know Fareeha and I have always been close, we just didn't know how close we had become."

"I know you two would be good for each other and Amélie said as much," Ana said.

"Amélie?" Fareeha said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Amélie," Ana replied. "She and I did some target practice and had girl talk while we shot targets in the training area."

"Well, now I'm shocked," Angela said. "I was hoping everyone would get used to her and it seems you are. Brilliantly I might add."

"She's still Amélie Lacroix you know," Ana said. "Just a different one than she was before. There are some things that haven't changed with her."

The women nodded. Ana watched them and saw that, even now, they supported each other just like they always had. There was a closeness that she could feel as true from her seat across from them. Angela and Fareeha were definitely not experimenting or messing around. This was the real deal. Ana sighed.

"And that's another reason why I came by," Ana said after a few moments. "We not only had a heart to heart but, practicing with her, I realized I'm not as quick as I used to be. She was able to spot, aim, and shoot targets with complete and unwavering accuracy with me a half or quarter a second behind her. If I'm going to keep up the good fight, I can't afford to fall behind even if it is milliseconds."

Angela frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I need you to see about helping me stay healthy and get this old body of mine to keep up," Ana said with a laugh. "Or at the very least, help me have two eyes again."

Fareeha gasped and rose to her feet. "Mama, you can't," she said with horror etched on her face. "Amélie went through some pretty extensive experiments, borderline and outright torture, to make her body like that."

"Oh, no, habibti," Ana said waving the suggestion away. "I certainly don't want to have blue skin any time soon. It's a lovely shade on her but it's not for me. No, I want to strengthen my body some, make my reflexes a bit faster. If nothing else, I think it's time I stop moping about what happened when I hesitated on a mission and get my eye back."

Angela nodded. "It is a fairly old injury but I can see about doing something," she agreed as she thought about it and looked Ana over. "I can use some of my applied nanobiology treatments to strengthen your bones and muscles, see if we can help them retain some of their previous vigor. May take some time."

"I've got time," Ana said jokingly. "Not as much as I'd like, but I have time."

"Alright, I'll do some tests and Athena can help me see about treatments but, I must warn you, it may not produce the results you are looking for or at all," Angela said.

Ana simply took the young doctor's hands and smiled. "You have always been a brilliant doctor, Angela. I know you will do your best. That's all I ask."

Angela blushed a bit and smiled. "I will do my best."

They did some preliminary examinations and found that Ana was in very good shape for sixty. Fareeha sat with her while Angela ran diagnostics and tests, putting all data into Athena and having her compare it with data collected from Amélie. Of all the augmentation experiments Angela had ever seen or experienced, Talon – much to her disgust – had the most successful she had ever encountered.

When it came time to examine Ana's injured eye, it was very tense for all three of them. Ana peeled away the eyepatch and took a deep breath. The socket was empty and her lids were almost permanently closed by scar tissue. Angela had remained professionally impassive at the sight but Fareeha had covered her mouth and silent tears flowed down her cheeks.

Ana reached over and patted her daughter without turning to directly face her. "Keep in mind, habibti, this is not Amélie's fault," she whispered. "She was not in her right mind when Widowmaker did this."

Fareeha nodded. "I understand," she said softly and, quickly, kissed her mother's cheek. "We can fix this. Angela will think of something."

"I can try to use nanomachines to regrow the eye and repair the scar tissue, but keep in mind, this is an old injury and it will take just about all we have to fix something like this." Angela reminded Ana. "If you had been flown to me immediately after suffering this, I could have repaired it much faster and much better, but what's done is done and we'll have to do what we can."

After a few hours of more diagnostics and theories ran with Athena, Angela returned to Ana with a smile.

"Ok, I have some good news," Angela said. "We can definitely program the nanomachines to do repairs but we will have to have them strengthen your whole body to accept the process."

"Meaning?" Ana asked.

"Meaning, I have to have the nanomachines prepare your whole body to not go into shock or reject the treatments. You see, regrowing a limb, or in this case, an eye, will put a certain amount of strain on your body and might cause more harm than good. So, we have to prepare your body to be strong enough to take the strain and regrow the eye. If all goes well, your body will accept the regrowth without too much strain and you should regain sight in your new eye within a few days."

"What kind of side effects are we talking about?" Fareeha asked warily. "Sounds almost like your giving Mama steroids so her muscles develop faster."

"Well, she will need to stay here and sleep," Angela said. "In fact, if we give you a sedative, the process should be faster and you won't feel any discomfort," she said to Ana.

Ana looked at Fareeha and back to Angela. "OK, if you're sure about this," she said.

"Athena will be monitoring your process and if anything starts getting out of hand, she can have the nanomachines stop and alert me to any dangers," Angela said. "I will admit, this will take a good amount of time and a lot of nanobiology but no more than me raising the newly dead with my Caduceus staff."

Ana nodded. "Let's do it," she said. "I'm good but, as I found out playing with Widowmaker today, I'm not _that_ good. If I'm going to continue fighting the good fight, might as well use everything to my advantage."

Angela and Fareeha got Ana prepped and ready. Once the sedative took hold, Fareeha had kissed her mother gently and let the woman fall asleep.

"You are absolutely sure this is safe and everything," Fareeha asked.

"Absolutely, liebling," Angela said. "I would never agree to do anything that will be detrimental to your mother."

"I know, I just..."

"Fareeha," Angela said softly cupping the woman's cheek, "I would never harm a soul much less the mother of the woman I love."

Fareeha's mouth gaped. They hadn't said those words yet and Angela's eyes burned with passion. The words had not slipped out accidentally. Fareeha knew that Angela had said them loud and clear.

"I – I love you too," Fareeha said as a tear slid down her cheek and a smile she couldn't hold back anymore spread across her face.

Angela kissed Fareeha softly. "I just need to hook up the IV and introduce the nanomachines."

"I can do the IV," Fareeha said. "What do you need for the nanomachines?"

"I'll just have Athena program them before adding them to the catalyst fluid and injecting them to Ana's IV. Simple procedure."

"Programming for anatomic regeneration and muscle augmentation stage six beginning now," Athena confirmed. "It will take ten minutes for the programming to be one hundred percent."

"Are you sure stage six is required?" Angela asked the AI. "Seems a bit extreme."

"Normally, yes, Dr. Ziegler, but as you said earlier this is an eye we are regenerating," Athena confirmed. "The process for such an advanced organ would be different from an arm or leg. Not only does the organ need to be regenerated, but all nerve endings, muscles, and sight inducing aspects of the eye must be regrown and operational."

"This is going to be a large project," Angela sighed.

"The chance of successful eye regeneration with regained sight is actually pretty high, Doctor," Athena said encouragingly. "99.7% to be exact."

"That does sound pretty good" Fareeha agreed as she touched her mother's face. "We should cover her eye area though, right? In case of light sensitivity?"

"Ah yes," Angela agreed. "Gives us something to do while Athena completes the programming.

They gently wrapped Ana's face, covering her eye that would soon be back to normal. After wrapping and inserting the IV, Athena announced that the programming was complete.

Angela took a syringe and prepared the catalyst solution while Athena created the now programmed nanomachines. The glowing yellow liquid looked warm to Fareeha. Angela nodded and made her way carefully to the IV where she then injected a side tubing, making the sedative and clear IV solution turn a slight yellow.

"There we go, nanomachines introduced," she turned to Athena. "Status?"

"Nanomachines engaged, as soon as circulation spreads them through Ana Amari's body," Athena replied. "Circulation is good, nanomachines are already taking positions and commencing regeneration processes. Operation of nanomachines 100% optimal, operation status 1% and climbing."

Angela sighed. "OK, she's tucked in bed and resting well and the nanomachines are doing their thing. Now we just have to wait for the process to complete."

"Oh no you don't," Fareeha said with a knowing look. "You are not going to stay in the medical bay and stay up all night."

"Fareeha, this is your mother," Angela said. "I am not going to just leave her here overnight without watching her process."

"Angela, Athena does not require sleep and she is monitoring her completely," Fareeha said with her arms crossed. "I know you and how you are. You would stay in here all night and end up falling asleep in a chair or something anyway within a few hours. I say we have Athena watch over Mama and we get some sleep. If anything should go wrong, Athena will alert us. If we stay up and watch over her, it will only make us worry incessantly."

"Oh, alright," Angela said with a sigh. "Athena please keep an eye on her and alert me to anything that goes wrong."

"Of course, Dr. Ziegler," Athena replied. "Do not worry, Captain Amari is sleeping peacefully and her vitals are doing fine. Operations are already at 5%."

Angela looked at Fareeha who leaned down and kissed her mother's brow before reaching for Angela's hand. She led her out of the medical bay and down the short hall to a staff rest area.

"Not your room?" Angela asked.

"You want to be close by just in case, right?" Fareeha said.

"Ah, yes," Angela said. "Nothing will go wrong but better safe than sorry."

The women quietly undressed and cuddled under the soft blanket on the small bed before drifting off to sleep.

6

 _Watchtower Gibraltar, the next day_

Angela woke to the gentle kisses of her lover and the warmth of her skin.

"You woke up first," Angela mused.

"I didn't want to disturb your rest," Fareeha said. "I have to admit, I was worried about Mama but Athena hasn't said anything about problems so I figured I wouldn't worry you."

Angela kissed Fareeha softly, wrapping her arm around the woman's strong shoulders and pulling her close. Fareeha was a little surprised at the passion of the good morning kiss but wasn't complaining. Angela moaned softly as Fareeha slipped her tongue between soft lips and tangled it with the warm, wet center of Angela's mouth. Their breath mingled as their bodies awoke fully.

"You're kisses are much better than coffee," Angela giggled breathlessly.

"I'm sure if we could sell it in cafes, we would make a fortune," Fareeha smiled.

"No way," Angela said with a playful pout. "I'm not sharing those kisses with anyone."

Their lips pressed together once more before Athena's voice beeped in.

"Doctor Ziegler, the process is complete," she said. "I saw that you and Agent Amari are awake so I thought I would tell you the good news."

"Ah good," Angela said with a relieved sigh. "I was hoping-"

"There are some unexpected results however," Athena said. "perhaps proceeding at stage six was too much but I am recording that data for archives. Perhaps stage four would have sufficed. Like I had predicted, however, it is better we continued at stage six with the regeneration of a complex organ than take a chance of failure with a lower stage."

"What unexpected results?" Fareeha asked and Angela could feel the panic rising in her lover's body. "What's happened to my mother?"

"She is waking up now if you would come to the medical bay and see for yourself," Athena answered.

Fareeha dashed up from the bed and almost went through the door when Angela reminded her to put on pants. Within moments, both women were dressed and rushing into the medical bay.

"Mama?" Fareeha called out fearfully. Angela was right on the woman's heels as they reached the bed. A moan came from the lump of sheets.

"I don't remember you being so loud in the mornings," Ana said. Her voice was clear and different. Fareeha was about to reach out when Ana Amari sat up in the bed, letting the covers fall as she touched the bandages covering the right side of her face.

No one moved or even seemed to breathe.

" _Mein Gott_ ," Angela gasped and covered her mouth as Fareeha wobbled on her feet, eyes wide and mouth open.

"What?" Ana asked. "Why are you staring at me like..."

Her eye – the one not covered in bandages – opened wide and she looked at her hands. "OK, my skin isn't blue, but you two are staring at me like I'm some sort of freak. What did you do to -"

Then she noticed how smooth her skin was. She pulled back the sheets to reveal long, smooth legs, shapely hips, and perky full breasts. Arabic curses of shock slid from her mouth as she started to stand.

"Wait!" Fareeha said snapping to action, "Don't just jump up after all you've obviously been through. Besides you have an IV in your arm."

Angela also came to her side, muttering German under her breath. She and Fareeha helped Ana lay back down.

"Oh you two, I'm fine," Ana said a little frustrated and confused.

"We need to take these bandages off and see how your new eye looks before we address.." Angela trailed off.

"Address what?" Ana demanded.

Fareeha swallowed. "You're going to want to see this fully, Mama."

Ana let out a sigh of frustration but allowed Angela to quickly remove the bandages. When they were off, Ana opened her eyes and felt dizzy.

"How do you feel?" Angela asked looking at her face.

"Dizzy," Ana replied. She closed her right eye. "I can see pretty clearly with my good eye." She then closed her left eye and opened her right one. "This one is blurry."

She wiped her eye as it had teared up.

"That's going to be like that for a day or two," Angela said stuttering out the explanation. "It's actually blue because the pigment hasn't formed in it yet and so it will be light sensitive and your vision will be blurry like a newborn's until it strengthens."

"Ok, that's good then," Ana said with a frown. "So why are you and Fareeha still looking at me like that? I mean, the blue eye will turn brown like my natural eye color, yes?"

"Um, yes.."

"So?"

Fareeha went and picked up a mirror from one of the various cabinets in the medical bay and came to her mother with trembling hands.

"Angela Ziegler, I swear by all things holy if you did something..." Ana started to say until she saw her reflection in the mirror that her daughter held. The words died in her throat and she touched her face.

The reflection looking back at her could not be right. The skin was smooth and her eyes – both of them even though one was indeed blue – were bright. Her gray hair was gone and its place were waves of ebony still in the loose braid she had it in the day before. Her full, beautiful lips trembled as she felt like she had gone back in time.

"Oh Angela," Ana breathed in dazed awe. "How on earth did you make me young again?"


	6. Chapter 6

The Talk part 6

1

 _Undisclosed area, Russia_

The smugglers were moving fast and they had already killed several of the Vishkar personnel to steal the payload. Winston had checked ahead and reviewed all the data from the scenes in Siberia and other locations in Russia. It was not Talon activity. The new Overwatch teams did not want Widowmaker running across her old faction until they were sure she could be protected from any kidnapping or assassination operations they would do if it was discovered she was still alive. Amélie was itching for action, however, and Winston knew this. She had many sparring sessions and sniper practices, but he knew that she was either warring with her former programming to kill or wanted to prove herself as a valued member of Overwatch.

This one operation could be handled with a smaller crew. Tracer had flown her and Widowmaker to the dropzone outside the warehouses and storage units the smugglers had been using as a base of operations. Winston was on link as was Athena as the two neared the checkpoint.

"Tracer, here," Lena said over her intercom. "You getting me, love?"

"Loud and clear," Winston said. "Widowmaker, you read?"

"Widowmaker here," Amélie replied.

"Good, communications are excellent," Winston said. "Ok, you two know what we need. Make sure to get that payload back here to return to Vishkar."

"One question," Amélie said. "Are we keeping casualties to a minimum?"

Tracer looked at her girlfriend who had no expression on her face as she asked. Amélie had accepted that this is what she did, her role on the team, and she didn't flinch or hide from it. Being a sniper and assassin was still scary as hell to the Brit, but she was proud that Amélie was owning it instead of fighting with what she had become or hiding it.

"This mission is more retrieval than an assault," Winston said quietly. "Intelligence confirms that these are only thugs with guns. Remember, they killed innocent people at Vishkar, not just guards when they stole these prototypes. If they resist, take them out."

Widowmaker nodded at Tracer who smirked and nodded back. The women moved fluidly as Widowmaker used her grapple to swing to vantage points and Tracer zipped along using her accelerator. On the roof of one of the storage units, the two women saw a dozen guys, armed with military grade assault rifles. Four others were loading boxes onto a waiting truck.

"I'll take position here and on various higher ground here and there," Widowmaker said pointing. "I might be moving around a lot but I'll keep everything in sight."

"I'll handle things on the ground," Tracer confirmed. "Once we get the area secured, we can grab this payload and take it back."

Amélie nodded and Tracer smiled. "Will be a bit different this time," she said happily. "I'll try to stay _out_ of your crosshairs, eh?"

Widowmaker smiled. "I promise I'll keep you covered," she said. "No worries, _chérie_."

Tracer gave her a quick kiss. "Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy." she giggled.

Widowmaker crouched and the sides of her new visor slid into place as she positioned her rifle and went into sniper mode. Several guards appeared behind the walls and boxes and Widowmaker scanned for a route that she could clear for Tracer.

"It looks as if you can go through those doors on the north side of the main building," Widowmaker said to Tracer who had crouched nearby to see where the sniper was aiming. "Once I clear out these three guards, you should be able to slip in. The payload is being loaded up on a truck inside the building we are breaking into. I count eight people, four of them visibly armed."

Tracer pulled out her pulse pistols at the ready and nodded. Widowmaker nodded back and took aim at the first guy smoking a cigarette and looking bored. When the rifle popped, surprising Widowmaker at the near silence of this new rifle's discharge, Tracer burst into action. The man Widowmaker aimed at went down without a sound and Tracer zipped towards the door. One man saw her and started to raise his gun while shouting out when he too went down. The last of the three took aim but Tracer slid under his gun barrel and kicked it up. He cried out in pain as his fingers crunched. Tracer then zipped behind him and slammed her pistol into the back of his head. He crumpled to the ground and Tracer went through the door.

As she silently slipped by crates and pillars, she noticed movement in the corner of her eye higher above her. Looks like Amélie had grappled to a position inside.

"I'm in position above the truck," Widowmaker said over the intercom and Tracer smiled. They did work well together. "Seems like our friends outside made enough noise to make them jumpy."

Tracer saw that the guards had their guns at the ready and were telling the others to load up the truck faster. Widowmaker was right, the element of surprise was ruined.

"Bugger," Tracer hissed into her own mic. "Looks like blaze of glory time. I'll take out the blokes on the floor here and you take out any guys who try to come in from the outside."

" _D'accord_ ," Widowmaker responded.

Although Tracer couldn't see her, she knew Widowmaker was there and ready. She knew Amélie enough to know that she could be in position anywhere whether it was up on a catwalk with a straight shot on the main doors or upside down and around a corner two hundred yards away. The woman was just that good and it made Tracer smile as she zipped out into the middle of the group of armed men.

"Oi, gents!" Tracer announced as she appeared in their midst. "Cheers for loading up the goods for us. I'll have to think of a right proper way to thank you!"

The men turned and fired, only to have bullets pass through blue slipstreams and empty air. Tracer tripped one guard while taking out another with two quick bursts of her pistols before she zipped again. One guard got a shot or two off from a distance but gasped as Tracer was suddenly in his face with a smirk and a quick elbow to the solar plexus.

"It's almost like playing Rugby," Tracer said with a laugh.

A pop was heard and the guard Tracer had tripped went down. "I didn't know you played Rugby," Widowmaker said over the comm.

"Not officially," Tracer said as she took out the guy she had checked with her elbow. "I watch a few games here and there though. We should do that when we get to London again."

"You'll have to explain the game," Widowmaker replied. "I'm sure it will be great to drink a pint and cheer on your favorite team with you."

"If the local beer doesn't suit you, no one will give you any guff for having wine," Tracer said with a laugh as she held the unarmed guys at bay with her guns and motioned for them to back away from the truck. She had them gathered in a controlled little group when she heard the main doors start sliding open.

Two men slid underneath the door when it was high enough for them to do so. One was immediately taken out by Widowmaker's quick aim but Tracer had to duck to the truck and started firing at the newcomers and any that tried to come out from under the door. She zipped around to a crate beside the door and ducked as a rain of bullets splintered the top and sides of the wooden obstacle.

"I'm gonna pulse bomb them," Tracer informed her partner. "draw their fire away so I can get a clear shot."

" _D'accord_ ," Widowmaker replied and Tracer heard a hissing sound followed by coughing. Amélie had fired off one of her Widow Mines and started to pick off the armed goons who tried to find her amid the thick gas. Once she heard the whine of the pulse bomb reach the critical stage, she stood quickly and tossed the grenade where the gas had already started to dissipate. The low hum of the energy being released resonated throughout the warehouse and Tracer had ducked and covered her ears. It wasn't until the echoes stopped that she opened her eyes and looked over the ruin of the crate she had used for cover. No gunfire was heard but she did hear the truck engine turn before it soon went full speed towards the front doors that were partly open.

"Aw crap," Tracer cursed. "Widow, the truck is getting away. Are you alright?"

" _Oui_ , I'll take care of the truck," Widowmaker replied and Tracer saw her zip cord out of a blasted window.

Tracer used her accelerator and teleported to the window before jumping out and teleporting to another high point. She saw the truck barreling along a route trying to reach the gates to escape. The windshield was cracked from smashing through the half open warehouse door, but the driver was more or less keeping the truck going and trying to make a desperate escape with the payload. She was about to open fire on the truck when she heard a familiar pop off to her right and saw the driver's side window explode with a shower of glass. The truck lurched to one side and scraped along a storage unit, sparks going in all directions, until it screeched to a halt and shuddered.

She hopped down and headed for the truck with her guns out. Widowmaker swung down and landed by her side before both ladies moved in swiftly with guns at the ready. The driver was slumped over to his side over the steering wheel with a large hole in the side of his head. Tracer opened the door and pulled the dead man out.

"Engine is still running, so we can get this back to our plane," Tracer said.

"Will we be able to unload these boxes onto the transport?" Widowmaker asked.

"Athena has heavy duty drones to handle that," Winston answered for them. "If you can, drive the truck to the transport and guard it while we get the payload loaded and then get back here quickly and safely."

"Gotcha," Tracer said as she stepped over the dead man.

Widowmaker had opened the passenger door and proceeded to break out the shattered and bloody windshield before Tracer took the driver's side.

"Ew," Tracer said with a grimace. "Ugh, there's blood all over this thing!"

" _Je suis désolé, mon chérie_ ," Widowmaker said with a sincere look.

"I'm just going to have to take a shower when we get back," Tracer said smiling.

"I'll wash your back," Widowmaker said with a smirk and a fire in her golden eyes.

"Deal," Tracer said as they pulled the truck from the warehouses and up to the dropoff point to start the unloading process.

2

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar, later that day_

Amélie took off the band that recorded her vitals while she was on a mission as Lena met with Winston to make sure the payload was unloaded and secure. Even though her hands shook some, she knew this was only the residual effects of her adrenaline induced euphoria caused by her conditioning. Lena didn't seem worried about it. The sweet girl even held Amélie's hand reassuringly as they flew back to base with their payload. Amélie had concentrated on her slow heartbeat and timed her breathing with it to get her head straight.

"So, I take it everything went well?" a voice smooth with a southern drawl said and Jesse McCree stepped up beside Amélie. She had heard his boots and smelled the cigar on his breath long before he approached but she hadn't turned to face him.

"A little after mission shaking, but that is normal," she replied. "I would usually have to go decompress before debriefing after a mission."

"What was that like?"

"No one spoke to me or touched me for fear I was still under the effects of my psychotic high," Amélie said giving McCree a sidelong glance. "Once, a soldier placed his hand on my back, thinking he would balance me as I walked up into our transport. Within seconds, I had broken his arm and almost shot him when he was on the ground. Luckily, or whatever, Reaper had grabbed my gun and aimed it away. After keeping me from killing the trooper, Reaper informed him that I am not to be touched and, hopefully, having just a broken arm would remind him and everyone involved of that lesson."

"Yikes," McCree said giving her a worried look.

Amélie chuckled. "No worries, Cowboy," she said as her full lips curved into a small smile. "I have since gained a lot of impulse control with my new treatments."

"Thank God for that," Jesse said. "I'd hate to congratulate you on a job well done only to lose my arm."

"It's getting easier to channel my training," Amélie said quietly. "You were right, there is a difference between me and Widowmaker. Thank you for helping me with that."

"No problem, Frenchie," Jesse said with a smile. "Someday soon, you'll get to have that revenge on Talon I know you harbor. Lena even knows you're gearing up for it."

"You think I will be able to control myself fighting them?" Amélie asked, her brow creasing only slightly in thought.

"I think you're our biggest defense," Jesse replied. "They certainly won't be expecting it. If Reaper wasn't always wearing that goddamn mask, I'd pay good money to see the expression on his mug when he's looking down the barrel of your new Widow's Kiss."

Amélie smirked at that thought. "Maybe then we can see who that _connard_ is. If he still has his head once I am done with him."

"I don't know what a ' _connard_ ' is but it sounded about right," Jesse said.

"It means he's a right bastard," Lena answered walking up. "And I couldn't agree more. I hope she leaves enough of them for the rest of us. I know I'd like to take out the creeps that kidnapped her and did all those horrible experiments."

Lena put an arm around Amélie's waist and kissed her cheek.

"You want me to take your medical recording back to Angela so you can check in with Torb and drop off your gear?" Lena asked her.

" _Oui_ , _s'il vous plaît,_ " Amélie said handing Lena the band. "I will see you in a few moments then?"

"Bet on it," Lena said wiggling her eyebrows in an amusing way. They gave a chaste peck kiss to each other before Lena turned to Jesse.

"My warning still stands, Jesse," she said wagging a finger at him but still had her teasing smile in place. "Hands off my girl."

Jesse laughed and held up his hands. "Amélie just told me about the time she broke a Talon soldier's arm for just touching her. I guarantee I'll behave."

They chuckled as they parted ways. Lena watched as they went towards the Forge and smiled. She was very glad that Amélie and the others got along. She even had friends among them which is an added bonus and Lena was so proud of her.

She stepped into the medical bay and saw Angela was with someone in one of the examination areas. Fareeha was sitting in the waiting area and Lena smiled and waved.

"Hey, Fareeha," she said cheerfully. "Just dropping off the recorded data from our mission."

Fareeha sat up straighter and started to stop Lena from going into the examination area, but Lena continued talking and didn't notice as she stepped further in.

"You two should have seen us," she was saying as Fareeha took some quick steps to intercept the British woman, "Amélie and I are a great team. She was amazing! I mean, she's always amazing, I'll give her that, but she and I were like a well oiled machine, I tell you."

Angela stood back in surprise and Lena noticed a beautiful woman wearing a hospital gown which was common in the med bay. Her hair was waves of raven black and her skin was the same smooth mocha of Fareeha's. When she locked eyes with Lena, the Brit noticed one eye was a lighter shade of brown while the other was almost black. The darker eye had a tattoo similar to Fareeha's.

Lena stopped in surprise and blinked a couple of times before huffing a laugh and shaking her head. She turned to Fareeha who had an almost comical look of fear on her face.

"I didn't know we had any of your mates from Helix here," Lena said. "She turned back to the Egyptian woman on the bed and smiled. "Hello there, I'm..."

Her introduction trailed off as she got a good look at the woman on the bed who raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms with a slight frown.

"I know who you are, Lena," Ana Amari said.

Lena shook her head again and blinked rapidly. The world seemed to tunnel in on the young woman as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing and hearing. Ana was still somewhat cranky and stern, but it sounded quite strange without her normal scratchy older woman voice. It especially sounded strange to be coming from a youthful thirty-something instead of a sixty-something.

Suddenly Lena's eyes went wide and her mouth gaped open. She felt light headed and wobbled unsteadily for a moment.

"Fareeha, catch her before she falls," Ana said with a sigh. "That poor girl looks like she's going to collapse any minute now."

Fareeha did just that. Her strong arms went gently around Lena's waist and she helped the woman sit on an adjacent bed. Lena just stared.

Ana stared back for a moment before rolling her eyes. "So much for keeping this under wraps until we got it all straightened out," she said and turned to Angela. "I should have known it would be Oxton who found out first."

"Could have been worse," Angela said with a shrug and a nervous laugh. "Hana could have flown in unexpectedly from South Korea."

"Well, thank goodness for small favors," Ana said and turned back to Lena. "Good Lord, woman, take some deep breaths before you pass out. You're starting to turn bluer than Amélie."

Lena did. She gulped down air and tried to keep from fainting.

" _Captain Amari_? How did this happen?" she finally squeaked out. "Is that really you?"

Ana laughed and stood up. She walked over to Lena and bent down to look her right in the eyes before pinching her cheeks like she always did when teasing the bubbly girl. "Yes, it's really me," she answered with a laugh. "Seems like Angela here is a genius even when it's an accident."

"We were just trying to restore her eye," Angela explained. "It was more than just a simple regeneration process. Being a complex organ, it would cause more strain to Ana's body than regenerating a finger or even a whole arm. Athena and I adjusted the regeneration staging too high to compensate for age and complexity and now, instead of regenerating just her eye, we've regenerated her whole body."

"That's..." Lena started but words failed her as she watched the now youthful Ana Amari pulling on the standard black cargo pants. She had to admit, she thought Ana was breath-taking but she was in such shock at the whole thing that she didn't think the compliment would be appropriate. All she could say was "wow".

"We don't know all the ramifications that this will cause," Ana said when it seemed everyone else was silent. "On the one hand, Angela could probably win another Nobel Prize in Medicine – this time for discovering the Fountain of Youth – or this could be a more of a curse than a blessing."

"Well, how do you feel?" Lena asked.

Ana smiled and stretched and Lena blushed a bit at the display. "I feel amazing!" the woman said with a genuine smile and, to everyone's surprise, a completely girlish giggle. "I always did Yoga and kept my old bones in shape so I could fight and do missions but I have to admit, I was getting a little stiff."

To make a point, she intentionally rolled her shoulders and twisted her back in what looked like a slow belly dance which made various joints pop loudly with a sigh of satisfaction.

"If I had done that the day before yesterday, Fareeha would have had to rush me in here and I'd probably be bed ridden or limping along with a cane for a week," Ana said.

"She feels fine now, but she is far from immortal," Angela said pointedly with a frown in Ana's direction. "The nanomachines not only regenerated her eye but regenerated all of her muscles, bones, organs, and everything. If it was dying or old, the nanomachines renewed it. That doesn't mean it won't degenerate. We're testing her recovery and seeing how fast her body is aging in light of her, well, I guess we should say rebirth."

"I feel like Isis," Ana said with a smile. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Lena had never seen her so happy. It was strange yet beautiful to see her face radiant with energy and joy. Even Fareeha couldn't hide her pride and happiness for her mother.

"Well, what potential side effects are we talking about?" Lena asked. "I mean, I'm all for her being giddy. Look at her! I don't think I've ever seen Mama Amari so happy or ready to take on the world."

"The nanomachines have already started to shut down," Angela explained. "Once they perform the duty they are programmed to do, they shut down and are expelled from the body like any other waste. Like the ones I used to help Amélie."

"What happens when the nanomachines are all gone out of her system?"

"We don't know what it could do to her body as a whole," Angela answered. "But she has two eyes."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Ana said with a frown. "Just because I can live healthy and young for another thirty more years or so shouldn't be a problem."

"The problem is we don't know if your body has to have nanomachines in order to stay going, Mama," Fareeha answered. "You may feel like my twin sister more than my Mama right now, but what if your cells degenerate too quickly? What if we've accidentally put too much strain on your body and this is only temporary?"

"You could be Isis today and Horus tomorrow," Lena said. She meant it to lighten the mood a little but wasn't prepared for Ana's laugh. It was clear and lilting, like a melody played from a harp.

"I am impressed you know about Egyptian gods," Ana said. "But seriously, what are the chances that I will suddenly be an old woman again or dead the next morning?"

"That's just it," Angela said with a sigh. "We don't know. So far, everything checks out and none of your systems are failing or showing any signs of deterioration."

"Why don't you do what you did to yourself?" Lena asked Angela.

"Because there are potential side effects to that," Angela said quietly.

"Like what?" Fareeha asked.

"It could prolong her life by many years, not just giving her a chance to start over at thirty."

"Doesn't sound so bad," Ana said with a shrug.

Angela turned to her and the look in her eyes had all of the women silent. It was sadness like they have never seen.

"No, you don't know what I mean," Angela said with tears brimming in her eyes. "I mean, the nanomachines will repair your tissues, correct any failures in body functions, and keep you immune to any diseases and critical wounds within reason. In essence, you could live potentially forever. While you are healthy and strong, living year after year, no real concerns for death, everyone around you will grow older while you stay the same."

Ana chewed her lip as Angela's words sunk in. "Everyone would grow old and die except me."

The impact was made fully known as she looked at Fareeha. She could imagine her beautiful baby girl with wrinkles, aches and pains, and gray hair. Tears formed in Ana's eyes.

Fareeha must have known what her mother was thinking because she quickly pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Mama, don't you worry about me," Fareeha said. "You do what you feel is necessary. I'm sure Angela would find some way for us all to be here as long as we need to be."

"If I do the nanobiology therapy that I did to myself, you can virtually live forever," Angela said. "The only thing is, you would have to keep up the therapy. If you stopped treatments, the nanomachines would eventually stop replicating themselves and you could rapidly deteriorate and die."

"How often would I need the therapy?" Ana asked.

"Once," Angela replied. "But we would have to check on the nanomachines in your system as I do every six months to make sure they are replicating properly and keeping your body strong and at full capacity."

"What if you toned it down?" Lena asked suddenly.

Angela looked at her and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you could improve on your own design, yeah?" Lena said looking at Ana and Fareeha. "Nanobiology therapy but in smaller doses? That way they won't replicate too much and repair too much and she'll still age, just slower. Is that possible?"

"Well, yes" Angela said thinking about it. "I mean, Amélie's nanobiology isn't as strong as mine and she's still going to age … even if it's at a slower rate. The only reason I had to use the level I had with her is because of the extreme suppression Talon made to her cardio and respiratory systems."

"We had to regrow an eye," Ana reminded her. "Not as extreme as keeping a woman who barely breathes or has a heartbeat alive. We should be able to find a compromise between making me a goddess and keeping me around for a while longer."

"Maybe it isn't as bad as we all think," Lena said with a smile. "I think we're just all having our nut because of the unexpected results of an operation that was more successful than anticipated."

Angela closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she stepped towards Lena and pulled her into a tight hug.

"If I've never said it before, I'll say it now," Angela said with a little laugh. "You are the greatest, Lena Oxton. I don't know what we would do without you. I'm so happy you are not just a fellow Overwatch member, but my friend."

"Always glad to be of service," Lena said.

Fareeha had also moved to their side and rubbed a reassuring hand on Lena's back. The moment broke only when a soft throat clearing was heard. They looked up to see Amélie standing with her hand on her hip and eyebrow raised.

"I was checking to see if you had returned my data recordings from the mission," Amélie explained. "Now I am a little concerned seeing everyone hugging. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, they are just getting all mushy because we figured out how to solve a problem," Ana said dismissively.

Amélie looked at the Egyptian woman with narrowed eyes. They stood looking at each other for a moment before Amélie spoke.

"Are you Fareeha's sister?" the French woman asked. " _Pardon moi_ , we haven't been properly introduced."

The other women laughed and Amélie looked confused. Fareeha put a hand on her mother's shoulder as she replied to Amélie.

"You aren't going to believe this, but this is Ana Amari," Fareeha said.

Amélie straightened and blinked a couple of times. Outside of the blinking and the widening of her eyes, she had no other expression. This was the closest thing to shock the others thought she was capable of. She moved over to Lena and sat down next to her on the bed quietly.

"I think I need a moment to adjust to this," she said. "What happened?"

"It's a long story, love," Lena replied. "I guess we have time to explain while Angela saves your recent data and prepares Ana's nanobiology therapy."

3

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar, some time later_

The water was hot and soothing as steam rose in great white billows in the shower. Lena had always liked the water nice and hot. She didn't think Amélie minded considering her girlfriend's circulation and colder body temperature. If anything, Amélie enjoyed the moments to warm her unnaturally cold skin. Lena could tell the water was doing both of them some good as Amélie's skin took on a more pinkish purple tone over the pale periwinkle it normally was. That pinkish purple skin was currently pressed up deliciously to Lena's own pinkish skin and it was pure heaven.

Lena couldn't help but hum pleasurably as Amélie's soft hands and long fingers ran soap over her curves. The beautiful French girl knew how to massage the muscles as she washed her lover's body and Lena was enjoying every second. They took turns, washing and touching, until eventually Amélie touched Lena's hair and the British girl felt something sticky get pulled out of the strands at her neck. Lena saw something red and thick plop at the bottom of the shower before washing down the drain in a smear of crimson.

"Oh my God, was that _blood?_ " Lena said feeling her stomach turn. "Did you just take a gob of blood and guts from my _hair?_ "

"It wasn't _your_ blood, _chérie_ ," Amélie replied and kissed Lena's neck before washing her hair.

"That's not reassuring, Ame," Lena said.

The disgust she felt melted with the feel of skilled fingers through her hair. When it was wet, Lena's hair actually flattened and lengthened. The haphazard spikes it normally sprouted turned into waves of brown and gold that reached a little past her chin. Amélie wondered if she could talk Lena into trying to flatten it down somehow just once. She was betting she would look scathingly sexy like one of the French Flappers from the ancient 1920s.

"How do you not get blood and God-knows-what in your hair?" Lena asked. "You have way more to take care of than I do."

Amélie chuckled as she washed out the soap from her beautiful lover's hair. "I can shoot targets from up to four hundred yards away. I don't normally engage in melee or close range."

Lena turned to her then, her laughter in a teasing breathy way as she ran her hands up Amélie's chest and wrapped her arms languidly around the woman's slender shoulders. Her lips kissed tenderly as their eyes slipped closed.

"I dunno," Lena said softly against Amélie's lips, "I think I like engaging you at close range."

The heat of their kisses, the cold press of the tiles at Amélie's back, the water sluicing down their bare skin in hot, lazy rivers, and the steam surrounding them, shrouding them in it's warm embrace, soon had the women thinking of much more than bathing. Their kisses turned hungry and their bodies caressed each other as hips moved against hips and hands explored curves. A moan escaped Amélie's mouth as Lena gently bit her lip and she could feel the swell of her lover's breasts press on her own.

"Perhaps I should dry you off, _mon chérie_ ," Amélie whispered breathlessly.

"You want to get out of the shower?" Lena asked with a grin.

" _Oui_ ," Amélie replied and her gaze locked with Lena's. Eyes of molten gold melted with hazel and Lena let out a shuddering breath. "I want to dry every centimeter of you with my tongue. Every. Last. Centimeter."

"Will you allow me to brush your hair afterwards?" Lena asked in a way that had Amélie thinking she was practically begging to do so.

" _Bien sûr_ ," Amélie replied.

Lena somehow fumbled with the shower buttons and the water turned off. The two women stumbled, naked and aroused beyond anything, to the bed where they tumbled with an "oof" and a giggle.

The warmth of the shower was nothing compared to the heat they shared now as the steam rose from their skin and their kisses devoured each other. Lena writhed and groaned as Amélie made due with her promise, making long trails over overheated skin with her tongue. It was like fire on Lena's skin from neck to collarbone. When Amélie reached her breasts, she skillfully alternated between licks, nips, and kisses until Lena felt like she would come apart from that wonderful mouth. Lower and lower still, Amélie sweetly tortured her British lover until Lena was heaving great gasps of joy.

When the French vixen reached the apex between Lena's legs, one sensually long swipe of her tongue was all it took for Lena to shudder and gasp aloud.

" _Je t'aime, mo sherry_ ," Lena gasped out between clenched teeth as she gave herself to the overwhelming sensations Amélie gave her. "Oh god, you glorious, beautiful woman..."

Amélie couldn't help but giggle wickedly as she made Lena's body dance with every ministration of her lips and tongue. She loved bringing pleasure to Lena. So much had happened between them and it was in moments like this, when she was bared and opened to her, she adored the woman more and more. She poured herself into giving Lena as much love as she could. More than she ever thought possible. With each moan and movement, she knew she was breaking down the barriers Talon had built in her heart and mind. She was capable of love and she was more than capable of expressing that love. No one deserved that love more than the woman who helped her see that despite all that happened. It made Amélie love her even more.

As Lena rode waves of ecstasy, Amélie kissed up the woman's twitching body, keeping one hand and stroking fingers between her legs to carry her through the climax that currently wracked her in spasms of bliss.

Still shaking and only able to make small moans in the afterglow, Lena ran her trembling hand over Amélie's hip and slid it to the liquid heat of her center. Fingers entered her slowly, exploring the shape and feel, and Amélie moaned her own approval. They kissed, all passion and tongues, as Amélie and Lena stroked their lover with devotion and tenderness.

It wasn't long until their voices and breath became one in pants and cries of love. Their lips kissed awkwardly as they trembled in the other's embrace: warm, sated, loved, and lost in the sea that was their lover's touch.

They gasped in baited breaths as they held one another in a tangle of arms and legs. Lena's head rested in the crook of Amélie's neck and the French beauty wrapped her arms around her spunky lover's shoulders. Lena relaxed as she felt Amélie's heart beat strong once then twice. For Amélie, a good, strong heartbeat ten times a minute meant it was practically racing. Lena smiled knowing that she was responsible for that. She ran her fingers over soft, clean skin that was warmed but turning back to its pale blue tone. Amélie brushed Lena's hair that slowly turned unruly and spiky as it dried between her fingers.

"Ah, I was going to brush your hair," Lena whispered as her eyes felt heavy in the comfort of her girlfriend's embrace.

"You still can in the morning," Amélie said as she kissed the woman's brow.

Lena sighed as her eyes became to heavy to keep open and she drifted to sleep. Amélie relished the slowed breathing and warmth of her lover's body before she followed her into sleep as well.

They slept in the comfort of each other's arms for long, undisturbed hours. The only thing that awakened them was a signal beep like an intercom. It woke Amélie up immediately.

"Sorry to disturb you Agent Lacroix, but Winston is alerting all available personnel," Athena said in a calm voice. "He is requesting a meeting at 09:00."

"What time is it now?"

"08:00."

"I'll wake Lena then," Amélie said. " _Merci_ , Athena."

She was about to do just that when she felt Lena stretch against her and groan. "S'ok, I'm awake," she mumbled. "Wonder what has the big guy up so early."

"He doesn't normally make wake up calls?" Amélie asked.

"Not unless something major has come up," Lena said sitting up and kissing Amélie's lips. "We better get our rears into gear and find out."

They both rose and started to gather clothing.

"Rain check on the hair brushing?" Lena asked.

Amélie faked a pout. "If we must," she said with her best pitiful huff and batted her eyelashes at Lena playfully. "I was looking forward to it."

"So was I," Lena sighed. "I know it seems strange but I love brushing your hair."

"What is strange about that?" Amélie asked as she slipped on the Overwatch cargo pants.

Lena pulled on her own black tank top and tilted her head in thought. "Well, I guess nothing then if you like it."

Amélie smiled. "Rest assured, _mon chérie_ , I like everything you do."

4

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar 09:00 hours_

They gathered quickly at the nine o'clock hour was rapidly closing in. Winston didn't have any chairs set up, but Athena was analyzing something on multiple screens. Lena and Amélie greeted Reinhardt and Morrison who were already there and waiting to see what happened. McCree came in with Torbjörn came in shortly after. Before it was officially nine, Angela and Fareeha came in together. Lena looked around but didn't see Ana with them. She raised her eyebrows at Fareeha in question who, in turn, only shook her head slightly. Ana was not attending this morning.

"Is everyone here?" Winston asked all gathered. There were some affirmative nods and muttering.

"Mama won't be here for this," Fareeha said apologetically. "She … ah..."

"She's getting checked up on something we're working on in medical," Angela said.

"Is she alright?" Winston asked concerned. The others all turned to Pharah and Mercy with equal expressions on their faces. _If Ana only knew how much we all cared for her_ , Lena thought amused.

"Yes," Angela said with a straight face, revealing nothing. "We're trying to see if we can do something about her sight."

Everyone looked at each other before turning back to Angela but she wasn't going to elaborate. Fareeha kept a good poker face as well but Lena could see Angela giving her a reassuring brush of her fingers to her hand and Fareeha relaxed her posture some.

"I hope things go well then," Winston said adjusting the glasses he always wore. Angela and Fareeha smiled nervously but Lena could tell they relaxed more. She began to wonder just how long they were going to keep the now young Ana Amari under wraps.

"Well, let's get started then," Winston said and turned to the computer screens. "Hana, you there?"

One of the screens flickered and a square screen came up with the smiling face of a young Korean girl. Here eyes were bright and her hair was pulled back into a pink headband. She was dressed in what looked to be a pink tank top with a bunny logo and she had anime styled neko whiskers tattooed on her cheeks in the same bright pink as her headband. At the bottom of her screen was a marquee in Korean, Japanese, and English announcing different information of websites, news, and donation information.

"Heya, Winston! Heya, Overwatch gang!" Hana said giving a little wink and cute two fingered salute. She was adorable.

To the rest of the world, especially if you were heavy into the internet, Hana Song was also , a South Korean web idol, gamer girl extraordinaire, and junk mecha battle sensation. She also happened to be an ally of Overwatch and a collector of all sorts of information. She was Overwatch's main intelligence agent and second to none when it came to information gathering. Amélie secretly thought she and Sombra would be the best of friends. Perhaps they already were and didn't even know it.

"Ok, just so you all know, I'm not broadcasting at the moment even though it's four PM," She glanced at her computer's clock and back at her webcam. "Everything we talk about is strictly off the web and private."

"Ok," Winston said. "I'm sure Athena can make this channel more secure if needed."

"It's no biggie," said shaking her head. "This is mostly stuff I gathered doing some surfing on the internet on my own. It's just I noticed some stuff that Overwatch should probably look into." She took a drink from a rather large plastic cup that had something in Korean and a cartoon of a man with a goofy smile on it. Lena had a good guess it was probably Mountain Dew. loved Mountain Dew.

"What did you find?" Winston asked.

"First thing's first," said with a look as she pointed her finger at the camera. "Is she really there?"

Everyone looked confused at first until Winston turned and looked at Amélie. "Yes," Winston said. "Would you like to meet her?"

Lena gave Amélie an encouraging smile. She smiled back and stepped forward to the view of the camera.

"O … M … G," said with wide eyes. "It really is you! Holy crap on a cracker! They told me that you left Talon and joined Overwatch but … oh, wow! That is so cool!"

" _Bonjour_ ," Amélie said politely. "We haven't met before have we?"

"Oh, no not officially," giggled. "I just had to be sure what I heard was true."

Amélie nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you … Hana was it?"

"Yeah," said with a proud smile. "Also known as . I know you're Widowmaker but your real name is Amélie right?"

"Correct," Amélie smiled.

"Cool," said but then her expression turned serious. "I need to make sure about something so please don't get mad, ok?"

Amélie perked an eyebrow. Hana chewed her lip and looked to be nervous about what she was going to say.

"You've been there for almost a month, right?" Hana asked.

" _Oui_ ," Amélie answered.

"And people can vouch that you've been there the whole time," Hana said hedging a bit. "What I mean is, you haven't been sneaking around or leaving the Watchpoint, right?"

" _Oui_ ," Amélie's brows knit. "I have been on one mission outside and it was with Lena … ah, Tracer … and we were in Russia."

"You haven't been in Germany, Libya, or Ukraine?"

" _Non_ ," Amélie replied. "Only here and in Russia for the past month. Tracer was with me in Russia and I have been seen and monitored here in Watchpoint."

"Ok," Hana said with a sigh. "Like I said, I'm not trying to make our first meeting a bad impression, it's just that some real hairy problems have gone down and I needed to be sure."

"You mentioned these problems to me last night," Winston said. "What's going on?"

"I have gathered some news reports from three different places over the last few days," Hana explained. "Typical espionage and assassinations of two CEOs of large corporations in Omnic and technology businesses as well as some data theft of a corporation in Ukraine. I'll upload the video footage of the one in Germany as it is the only footage seen."

They waited while she sent the video file to Athena who announced when it was complete and played it on one of the larger screens. A small group of guards were escorting the CEO Hana had mentioned when chaos broke out and one guard fell. There was gunfire seen nearby as two more guards fell and the last was desperately trying to get the CEO into a car. As the car sped off, the last guard was shot by an unknown assailant. The camera switched to an outside view and the words camera 2 were in German in the bottom right hand corner. The car was speeding away when the driver's side window exploded and the car pulled off to the side of the exit from the parking garage, crashing hard into a gate. The CEO stumbled out and was trying to run to the gate when something like black smoke hit him from behind and pulled him off camera. The scene switched to camera 3 (according to the German label) and showed the same time as when the guards were shot in the parking garage. A woman in a tight outfit and a sniper rifle used a grappling hook to zip line onto top of the parking area, taking out two guards with her gun before taking up a quick position and firing three shots down below. It was no mystery she was sniping the guards they had just seen being killed from the first and second camera footage. The sniper was dressed and moved in the same manner as Widowmaker. The only difference that could be seen from the footage was her hair was shorter.

Everyone watched breathlessly, especially Amélie. Winston grunted and adjusted his glasses again.

"When was this footage taken, Hana?" he asked.

"Last night," Hana replied. "That's why I contacted you. You see, this is the third case of 'Widowmaker' in the past week. The photographs from the news show only blurry images of a woman with a rifle and the news reports from the incident in Ukraine only say there were, quote, 'multiple victims of single, fatal gunshot wounds to the head with ballistics verifying that it matches previous murder cases of the serial killer known as Widowmaker', unquote."

"You have to know that is not me," Amélie said with wide eyes and a blanched look.

"We know that," Winston said reassuringly. "There's no way you would do those things anymore nor have you been anywhere but Russia in the past week. Someone seems to be copying your MO. The question is who?"

The footage repeated a couple of times as everyone including watched.

"The 'Widowmaker' in the footage has shorter hair," said. "That part is pretty obvious. It can't be our girl because I can see her standing right there with her hair down and it is definitely a lot longer than whoever this is sniping CEOs and bodyguards in the video."

"You think it might be Talon?" Morrison asked. "If they can make one Widowmaker, they could make another."

Winston grunted and Amélie visibly shuddered.

shook her head. "I didn't see any logos or Talon troops so it might be a fringe group just copying Talon and the real Widowmaker."

"It also took Talon almost a year to make me what I was," Amélie said quietly. This was hard for her and everyone, especially Lena, knowing what she must be thinking. It was her worst nightmare. The only thing worse than returning her to that was to kidnap and condition someone else to become an unwilling agent.

It was then that Amélie straightened as footage of the CEO being attacked showed again on screen. "Wait," she said suddenly. "Stop the video a moment."

The screen froze and everyone leaned in.

"Athena?" Amélie asked hesitantly. She was still new at addressing the AI and wasn't quite sure how to go about it. "Can you rewind this a bit … only slowly?"

The video went a couple of frames a second and backwards. The CEO leapt backwards back on screen and that mysterious black smoke flowed away from him.

"Stop!" Amélie said reaching for the screen. "Right there! See that?"

Winston leaned closer to the screen. "Can you enlarge that area where the smoke is Athena?"

The screen enlarged quite a bit and zoomed in on the area. The image was fuzzy but it looked like black smoke condensed on the CEO, throwing him forward past the gate. It wasn't until some enhancements were made that the grainy image of what looked like a skull showed in the front of the smoke.

"What is that?" Hana asked.

"That's Reaper," Amélie said with a grimace. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists. "If he is there, then it is definitely Talon."

Lena touched Amélie's shoulder in a comforting touch. "That means those bastards have made another victim their pet assassin," she said angrily.

"That's not the worst of it," Hana said fearfully. "Two of those assassinations were only an hour apart. There's no way that one 'Widowmaker' could have killed both of those targets in two different countries that quickly."

"Damn," Morrison said. "No offense Amélie, but you are very formidable. If Talon has made a virtual army of you then we could have a huge crisis on our hands!"

"Where are they even getting the people to condition and train?" Winston asked.

"Talon had many soldiers," Amélie replied. "If they only used me as a prototype, they could have many volunteers undergo the treatments."

"They wouldn't have to brainwash them," Lena said. "If we're talking Talon soldiers, they would be willing guinea pigs."

"I am not sure there would be that many of them," Angela said. "I'm thinking of Amélie's medical conditioning. I am under the impression that it would take a lot of trial and error to make the respiratory and cardiovascular systems slow to the point hers is without it being unstable or even fatal to anyone else."

"Meaning they improved upon their methods possibly," Amélie said with dread. "Still, that is a lot of maintenance. Drugs, tests, etc. Lots of work to make an army."

"Well, we know there must be more than one," Winston said. "The problem is, how many survived the enhancements and are now actively on duty."

"I can keep digging around," suggested. "I hate to say it, but I can only get what I can from the news and what I can dig up on the internet. I sure don't want any more to die at the hands of Talon just to try and pin point any details."

"We're just going to have to wait until they make their next move," Morrison said crossing his arms. "That means we're all going to have to be on high alert. I suggest we all go to our prospective homes where we aren't all clumped in the same area and can move in case something happens close by."

"I guess that's all," Winston said. "Everyone stay on call. Some of you may be going home, but this is far from a vacation."

Everyone sighed a bit in relief. Watchpoint was a great base, but home was home. If need be, they could always regroup here quickly.

Lena smiled. She was finally going back to London. Her eyes turned to Amélie who seemed a little lost. Lena wrapped her arm around her waist.

"Oi, love, I am sort of embarrassed that I never asked you this," Lena said shyly. "I don't suppose you'd have a problem with moving in with me would you?"

Amélie smiled. She had been to Lena's house more than once but that was before she and Emily had their talk and before she and Lena had become a couple. She didn't think telling Lena this would be a good idea. Instead, she smiled and pulled Lena close.

"I promise to be a good roommate," she said with a laugh.

"Oh, I believe you," Lena smiled. "Not like you'll leave laundry on the floor or dishes piled up."

"We shall do those things together, _chérie_ ," Amélie said.

Lena addressed Angela and Fareeha who stood nearby talking.

"What about you two?" Lena asked. "You staying or going?"

"I think we need to stay," Fareeha said. "Not just because of us but because of Mama."

Lena nodded. Ana had not come to this meeting so there was a question of whether or not she was going to come out after her medical breakthrough. Angela still had to run tests and see if the woman was going to be safe as well.

"If you need anything, you know we'll come quick as anything," Lena said and Amélie nodded.

"Thank you," Angela said. "And you know I'll be here if you need to contact me about anything." She turned to Amélie then and hugged her. "You should be fine. I went over your vital data from your mission and everything checked out normal. Well, normal for you. Keep track of any instability you might have with PTSD or any mental stress. Your memories are resurfacing and that could cause some confusion and things like vivid dreams. I'm here for you if you need me and I know you're in good hands with Lena."

" _Merci beaucoup_ ," Amélie said hugging Angela. "It will be strange being away from all of you after all of this."

"I have a feeling we're going to be back together many times and soon," Fareeha said giving Amélie a hug as well. "Fun thing about us is we are never far from one another."

"True that," Lena said. "It will be good to take a breather but even then, we can't breathe easy yet."

5

 _France, the next day_

The little private jet Lena owned was a bit of a surprise for Amélie. It was a Slipstream G14 model with a few modifications. Although Amélie was no pilot, Lena absolutely beamed when showing her the plane. Seems paychecks from Overwatch were good. Lena had told her she mostly saved up what she made while in the RAF and invested it so it would grow. Amélie thought about money she knew she could steal from Talon safe houses and planned on taking anything of value she knew she had stashed in locations even Talon didn't know about. She and Lena had made some quick arrangements before she defected a month ago and she needed to get those hidden assets before Talon knew they existed.

The two had spent the better part of the next day after the dismissal going to France. It was risky but Amélie assured Lena that Talon thought she was dead. She had taken credits in cash form and stashed it in a hidden compartment in an unsanctioned safe house near Annecy. Lena was a little shocked when she found them sneaking into a little bed and breakfast late at night. Lena guarded a window of a three story house in bewilderment and fear as Amélie sneaked past two sleeping people (the man snored in a somewhat loud but cute manner and Lena found it to be funny despite the situation) and took out a carefully wrapped package from a loose floorboard in the closet. They made it out and away without a sound.

"That seemed like a really nice place," Lena said when they were back at the plane. "One day we'll have to take a little vacation here. You know, I've never really been to France unless it was a mission."

Amélie smiled. "We can do that," she said. "That little place was Chateau Moreau. It was once a mansion owned by a wealthy woman of the late twentieth century. Sadly, her lineage died sometime in 2075 and the caretakers loved her so much, they made it into a bed and breakfast in her family's memory."

"That sounds really sweet," Lena said.

Amélie looked thoughtful and quiet for a moment and it caught Lena's attention.

"Hey, love, why so glum?" she asked.

Amélie only looked at her with a calm expression and Lena could tell something was weighing her mind. "Lena, do you think we could go to one more place before we leave France?"

"Sure thing, love. Where to?"

"It is in Annecy."

Lena nodded and steered the plane to a good landing location where Amélie indicated.

Once in Annecy, Amélie led her through some streets. It was late but still some of the nightlife were out and about. Amélie bought a rose from a little older man who had some in a plastic bucket. His eyes lit up as she handed him the equivalent of one hundred credits for a simple rose. Amélie told him to get plenty to eat and drink and then man simply nodded and called her " _Ange de la nuit_ ".

"What was that he called you?" Lena asked as they walked further.

"' _Ange de la nuit'_ is French for 'angel of the night'," Amélie said wistfully. "I probably gave him enough money to feed himself and get a good bottle of wine for a couple of weeks at least."

"You really are an angel, love." Lena said as she took Amélie's arm and snuggled close as they walked.

"Silly girl," Amélie said affectionately as she kissed Lena's temple.

They walked back to the outskirts of the city proper and Lena noticed they were at a cemetery. The lights were still on and dawn was still a few hours away. The front gate was locked and the walls surrounding it looked ominous.

"I'm not really superstitious or anything but what are we doing here?" Lena said a bit nervously. "First we sneak into an occupied room and now we're at a cemetery. I gotta be honest here, love, you are definitely an interesting date."

Amélie chuckled. "It will make sense when we get inside," she said.

Together, they silently scaled the wall and made their way through rows of mausoleums and tombstones. On one corner of the land, over a hill, and by a large tree, Amélie stopped. The lights were bright enough to see the path, but Lena had to squint slightly to adjust to her eyes to see the name on the grave marker. Bold capital letters carved in a white stone block made a lump form in Lena's throat as she read the name of the one who rested here: Gérard Lacroix.

Amélie placed the rose she had bought on the grave and stood back with a dancer's grace. " _Bonjour, mon amour_ ," she said softly. "I came by to see you before I leave for England. I don't know when I will be back in France and I had to come see you before I left."

Lena felt tears burn in her eyes. She sniffled and wiped them away. "Hello, Gérard," she said quietly. "I didn't know this is where you were, mate. They even put you in the shade of this big tree. That was nice of them."

"I learned of where his grave was and came to visit for the first time last Christmas," Amélie said. "It brought back some memories I didn't know if I was ready to face. When I came here, I told him how sorry I was for what I did. I asked him to forgive me."

"I'm sure he knows it wasn't your fault, love," Lena said running her hand over Amélie's arm reassuringly. The touch seemed to anchor Amélie and she could tell she drew strength from it.

"Merci beaucoup, Lena."

They stood silent for a moment when Amélie spoke with soft affection. "You should know, Lena and I are together now, _mon amour_ ," she said taking Lena's hand. "I'm not really sure how it happened but I fell in love with her. Funny, _non_? I never figured that I would love another woman yet here I am. She is helping me. She has been supporting me even when I didn't know who I was or what I was doing. She was there for me, fighting me, fighting _for_ me. I'm part of Overwatch now. We all miss you terribly. I want you to know, I am going to fight the people who did this, _mon amour_. I am going to take down the people who did this, made me into this, and took you away from this world."

"I'm going to be right by her side, Gérard," Lena spoke up and tears slid from her eyes. "We're going to make sure Talon is in the ground for what they did to you and her."

A breeze blew by and stirred the woman's hair. Lena gasped slightly and looked around. Amélie only smiled slightly and brushed the hair from her face before kissing her fingers and placing them on the grave marker.

" _Je t'aime aussi, mon amour_ ," she whispered. " _Au revoir_."

Amélie turned and started to walk away, but Lena stayed behind for a moment.

"Hey, mate," she said, placing her hand on the stone. "I love that woman with all my heart. I promise I ain't messing with her. I wouldn't do that and you know it. I promise you, I'll love her and help her. No worries, eh? You just rest in peace knowing Amélie is with good people and someone who loves her. We're going to get the people who did this, Gérard. I promise you that too."

Amélie had stopped and waited a little ways away and Lena nodded. "Cheers, mate," she said with a little salute and went to take her girlfriend to their new home together in London.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

1

 _London_

Having Amélie move into Lena's flat was easy but Lena soon learned that was because outside of Amélie's gun, tactical visor, and other equipment, she had barely any clothing or personal items. When asked about them, Amélie shrugged and said that she was mostly kept at a Talon safehouse or temporary barracks. She had never been concerned about things like food, clothing, or anything "normal people" would worry about. When asked about feminine products, Amélie only said she'd never had to use them.

"You mean you've never had a girl emergency while out on a mission?" Lena asked when they were clothes shopping one day.

"If you mean a menstrual cycle, I haven't had one of those in years," Amélie said looking at a particularly pretty purple top. It was Summer time and so the stores mostly had T shirts, shorts, sandals, and other fashion suitable for the warmer weather. Jackets and some other things could be found as London got chilly at night.

"So, in other words, you're sterile?" Lena asked with a hushed and horrified whisper. "I mean, I know they did a lot of things to your body but, wow."

"I'm not sure what they did," Amélie said looking for the purple top in her size on the rack. "I was never asked to seduce my prey so it wasn't like they had to worry about pregnancy."

Lena thought about that for a moment. "I'm guessing you and Gérard never wanted or tried to have children."

Amélie paused at her shopping and tilted her head. Lena knew she was trying to remember something.

"I don't recall ever discussing children with him," she said and turned to Lena. "I don't remember if I had wanted children. I'm sure I would have been a good mother. I don't think Gérard wanted to be off with Overwatch while I was home in Annecy taking care of our child. He would have wanted to be with me. At least, that is a feeling I get."

"Sounds like Gérard," Lena said. "He was very much like that. Even if you don't remember details about things like that, your heart does."

Amélie smiled to herself and Lena's heart warmed to see her overjoyed at that. "It is good I still can," Amélie said and ran her fingers over Lena's arm in a chaste but loving way. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm a strange case," Lena said a little forlorn. "Ever since the, um," she paused and tapped her accelerator that was slim but still visible under her RAF jacket, "accident, time has been a strange thing for my whole body. Buggered me right up. I used to take birth control to, you know, regulate my cycle and all that, but after what happened, it's like certain things are out of sync. Angela's checked me out a million times of course, but some things, like my Aunt Flo, are so out of sorts that the birth control kinda stopped it all together."

Amélie chuckled. "'Aunt Flo' sounds so gross," she said shaking her head. "I'm still learning some English idioms but that one I think I shall refrain from adopting."

"That's cause it _is_ gross," Lena chuckled back. "Honestly, I can't say I miss it really. One of the wonderful things about being a woman.

"On that note too, I know you've got this beautiful mane of hair that I adore, but I've never seen you shave," Lena said turning to Amélie and handing her an over sized T shirt with a vintage British flag silk screened on it. "Legs or … other parts," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Amélie bit her lip to keep from laughing. "That is because I don't have to because of my body conditioning," she replied. "They removed all of my body hair so I could be more," she turned to Lena with her lips pursed in thought, "what's the word?"

"Streamlined?"

" _Oui_ ," Amélie nodded. "Like one of your aircraft."

"That explains your 'uniform' too."

"Well, sort of," Amélie held up the T shirt to her chest and nodded. "It is true that it is also streamlined, retains body heat, is bullet and fire resistant, and all the important things but I also think Talon made it cut the way it is to be distracting to an enemy that decided to engage."

Lena raised an eyebrow and giggled. "That is very true," she said. "I did find it very distracting to fight you at times."

They were making their way to the dressing rooms with some prospective items when a lovely orange and yellow sun dress caught Amélie's eye.

"That's a bit bright for you," Lena said with a little frown.

"I was not thinking for me," Amélie said smiling as the found one in a smaller size and held it up to Lena. The British girl held up her hands and laughed.

"Oh no," she giggled. "No dresses. I don't do dresses."

" _Pourquoi pas?"_

 _"_ I feel strange in them is all," Lena explained. "Like they are too … airy. I feel exposed."

"Oh, please," Amélie rolled her eyes and smiled. "You normally have on tights and I've seen you wear shorts that show off your legs and a tank top that shows off your arms and cleavage so it will be no different. I think you are just afraid of being 'girly'."

"I'm not really a girly girl, love," Lena said crossing her arms and rubbing her elbows. She stopped as Amélie took a step closer to her and touched her cheek. The look they shared was enough to make Lena's breath hitch.

"Being girly is not bad, _chérie_ ," Amélie purred. "Besides, you are a beautiful woman, _non_? I want to see you be truly beautiful and feminine. Wearing a dress once in a while would not kill you."

"You really want to see me wear a dress?"

"I would _love_ to see you in a dress, _ma belle_ ," Amélie's voice took on a sultry purr that she knew Lena loved. The resulting shudder and pink rising to her cheeks had the French temptress know she succeeded.

Lena playfully snatched the sun dress and sighed. "You fight dirty," she said with a smile and slight shake of her head. "I guess I'll try this on," she looked back with a sensual look she knew Amélie liked and smiled to herself as she saw Amélie's breath hitch at the sway of her hips. "I know how you love my legs," she paused only for a moment before she added " _mon amour_."

Hearing Lena speak French was music to Amélie's ears and she closed her eyes and moaned a bit, savoring the sound of it.

"Now who is fighting dirty, _chérie_?" she asked aloud as she took the dressing room next to the one Lena disappeared into.

"Ha ha," was Lena's only response.

Amélie liked the clothes they picked out. Although her skin was definitely blue, she found Winter colors did the best for her. She liked warmer colors but they just didn't look right and made her stand out in a bad way even more than she already did. It was easy to say she had a medical condition, because that was actually true, but she agreed with Lena that darker colors helped her blend in better. The brightest she could go was white, which was the color of the hip-hugging jeans she was currently checking out in the mirror. She was admiring how they accentuated her hips when she heard a slight groan from the room next to hers.

"I dunno about this, love," Lena said. "I just feel so strange.

Amélie came out of her dressing room. "I'm sure it is not bad," she said. "Come out so I can see."

The door creaked open and Lena, almost comically, slowly crept out of the dressing room. Her cheeks were red, as were her ears, and she couldn't look up at Amélie or stop fidgeting with the skirt that playfully flowed about her knees. Her shoulders were slender as were her arms, but Amélie noticed the muscles that were both strong and womanly in Lena's long limbs. Amélie also realized another reason why Lena was so apprehensive about wearing a dress. Since she could not secure all the straps for her chronal accelerator, the leg straps hung by her sides. Amélie was sure there would be some way to adjust this. Lena looked amazing.

When Lena didn't hear anything, she looked up and found Amélie staring with wide eyes and her lips parted.

"See?" Lena said rolling her eyes. "I told you I didn't do dresses. I feel like -"

" _Non_ ," Amélie whispered and drew closer to Lena. She placed her hands on the smaller woman's shoulders and looked her over from her elegant neck to her cute little toes. " _Mon chérie,_ you are even more beautiful than I imagined."

"Really?"

" _Oui_ ," Amélie gave her a slow perusal that made Lena blush even more. " _Mon dieu_ , you are breath-taking. Seriously Lena, you look amazing."

"Well, to be fair, I feel pretty," Lena admitted. "Especially when you compliment me like that."

"If you only want to get that one, I'll understand," Amélie said running her hand over Lena's shoulder. "But I like this look. It's a wonderful side of you that no one really gets to see and I love it."

"You really like it?" Lena asked. "I'd only get to wear it with a non-tactical harness or somewhere I don't have to wear it at all."

"Your accelerator doesn't even get in the way that much," Amélie said touching the straps. "I'm sure there would be a way to adjust the leg straps."

"Oh, I can take them off if needed. I thought it would rub on my shoulders or stand out but it's not nearly as bulky as I thought at first."

"It's really quite slim."

"Yeah, it probably stands out more with my jacket I guess."

Amélie kissed Lena's forehead affectionately. "I love that jacket but you can't use it to accessorize everything you wear."

"True, true," Lena sighed. "Just so you know, dresses only for special occasions."

"Then I will treasure seeing them on you more," Amélie agreed.

Once back in the dressing room, Tracer looked at herself in the mirror once more. She turned to the left and then the right and a smile broke out over her face. She took out her cellphone and was relieved to see it was charged as she sent a quick text message to Torbjörn.

 _Lena: Hey Torb, when we have time to experiment, we need to make a slimmed down version of my accelerator._

 _Torbjörn: What did you have in mind?_

In response, she took a selfie in the mirror showing off the dress and sent Torb the picture.

A few moments later she received:

 _;) I'll see what I can do, Lass. If it helps you look that beautiful all the time, I'll fashion you a simple belt or something._

Lena smiled. That would be wonderful, she thought. She sighed as she carefully removed the harness and the dress before folding it lovingly. That dress was going to be her favorite, especially if she could see Amélie look at her like that again.

They had purchased a new summer wardrobe it seemed for Amélie. The omnic who ran the register paused when he saw Amélie for the first time and Lena felt a prickle of fear. Athena had said that Widowmaker was more of an urban legend and that the police and Interpol really had no clear description of her. The only thing they had managed in eight years were blurry snapshots, even blurrier security footage, and rumors. As the omnic seemed to be scrutinizing Amélie more, Lena looked at her too. Her hair was down, so no signature ponytail. She wore simple pants and a loose fitting black shirt with wide sleeves. Nothing conspicuous but Lena wondered if she would still be recognized. Even without all her normal gear on, Lena was still recognized as Tracer by more than a few people. The omnic tilted his head and Amélie smiled.

"I know what you are thinking," she said with a little laugh. "A blue French woman is unusual, _non_?"

"Yes," the omnic replied. "I don't mean to stare. Please forgive me."

Amélie leaned in a little as if she were sharing a secret. "You think I'm her, don't you?" she asked with a smile and a wink.

The omnic laughed a little nervously. "Her?" he asked.

"You know," Amélie's smile never faltered as she widened her eyes and waved her fingers before saying "Widowmaker" like she were telling a ghost story at a children's campfire and Lena tried to keep herself calm.

"I have this frightful medical condition," Amélie explained. "It's one of the reasons why I can't dance anymore. After more surgeries than I can count, they finally found a way to keep my heart working properly but my circulation is still extremely poor. I have to take these damn horse pills but it's better than being dead I suppose."

The omnic laughed a bit with her at her joke. Amélie continued, waving her hand as if dismissing the thought. "Then, some assassin starts running all over the place looking like something out of a comic book and, wouldn't you know it, she happens to look a lot like me. As if I didn't have enough problems with my medical condition, now I have an evil twin out in the world do all sorts of horrible things."

"Must be very difficult for you," the omnic replied as he started ringing up Amélie's items. "I must admit, I was very hesitant at first."

"Ah, _monsieur_ , you should know I've had plenty of trouble with mistaken identity," Amélie said casually. "I can't tell you how many times I've gone shopping, went to get coffee, or even visit an ATM when someone called the police on me saying they saw Widowmaker," Amélie rolled her eyes, "Truthfully, I wonder, would Widowmaker, an assassin in some tight costume flying on rooftops, be out and about in the daytime _buying coffee_? I would think someone like that would be plotting world domination or something a classic villain would do."

"That is true," the omnic laughed. "I doubt she would be grocery shopping or anything."

All three laughed at that never realizing how relieved Lena was. I've really got to work on my poker face, she thought.

They calmly waved goodbye as they left the store, bags of new clothes in tow. Amélie had hooked her arm with Lena's to give her a sense of balance and grounding. It wasn't until they were a good ways away when Lena took a deep breath and blew it out audibly.

"Oh God, that was scary," Lena whispered. "I had forgotten that people might recognize you. Totally slipped my mind. People recognize me all the time but I'm also not wanted by Interpol and a few other agencies across the globe."

"Don't fret, _chérie_ ," Amélie said patting the Brit's arm lovingly. "Once some well placed rumors are spread and I am seen more and more, there will be more rumors of Tracer having an unusual French girlfriend with a rare medical condition than Widowmaker prowling the streets of London."

"I guess you're right," Lena said. "You're way better at hiding and moving unseen than I am, love."

"And Ana and Jack have given me more than a few pointers to blend in and be unnoticed," Amélie said low. "Even with my 'condition', people only react at first. Once the initial curiosity is alleviated, they don't bother with it anymore."

"I hope so," Lena said giving Amélie a gentle squeeze. "We do enough sneaking around. Would be best if we could not be on high alert at all times."

"When we do what we do, we are always alert," Amélie sighed a bit. "We just don't have to be paranoid. Notice all the people out here on the street? I have seen a few curious glances but nothing that would cause alarm."

As if to prove a point, a young boy walking with his mother came across their path. He stared for a moment at Amélie with wide eyes and was going to simply stop in place and stare until his mother gave him a little pull.

"William, don't stare, it's impolite!" his mother said quietly.

"Mummy, that lady is so pretty!" The boy said aloud without any regards to tact. "She's blue like the sky!"

Amélie only smiled and actually gave the boy a little wink which made him giggle and blush. They parted ways without any incident.

" _Tu vois ce que je veux dire_?" Amélie asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I see what you mean, love," Lena said with a little surprise. "I guess in this day and age, nothing is really that surprising."

2

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar_

Winston and Athena went over various locations, listening to every radio communication and satellite feed. D. Va had her own stream to collect information but had not found any new leads on Talon. The little Korean woman was all smiles and playing another competitive video game as her thousands of viewers and fans tuned in but Winston knew that behind all the trash talking and liters of Mountain Dew, D. Va could get any information on anything with enough time.

Winston had to admit Warcraft 6 looked like a lot of fun and was studying D. Va's "noob pwning" strategy, when Jack Morrison came in.

He stood for a moment and crossed his arms. Winston only nodded and listened as D. Va laughed and guzzled Mountain Dew before she said "Ha! Fear my Sentinel army!"

"Always the Night Elves," Jack grumbled. "You know, if she had picked the Orcs, she'd have to change her whole strategy for gathering resources."

Winston glanced at Jack with mild astonishment. "You know this game?"

"Yeah," Jack said with a frown. "The little devil challenged me to a game or two and kept kicking my ass. I'd get my base camp almost to level two and here she'd come with an army of crap to stomp me into the ground. Most frustrating thing ever."

Winston chuckled and they both saw D. Va wink at the screen, letting them both know she could hear despite entertaining her stream fans.

"So nothing on the internet yet, eh champ?" Jack said to D. Va.

"The fog of war is still up over the enemy base, but no worries gang. I know this map up, down, and sideways," D. Va replied. It was her ingenious way of saying she was still searching without alerting her fans that she was doing more than just playing a game.

"Well, I'm going to let you do what you do," Jack said with a grin. "I'm thinking of grabbing Ana and doing some footwork. That's how we operate best. Old fashioned, but it gets results."

"I hope she's doing better," Winston said. "Angela hasn't really given an update about whatever they are doing in medical."

"That's another reason why I'm grabbing Ana," Jack said with a huff. "Those girls are being really secretive and unless they are having some super secret slumber party, something is up."

"Slumber parties are essential," D. Va said. "Just saying, if you haven't spent some quality time with your BFFs, you need to hang and order some pizza, holovid, and chill. Your best buds beat out video games. Genko234 asks 'better than video games?' and I have to say a resounding hells to the yeah! When you're with your BFF, the world is your oyster."

Jack nodded at D. Va's hidden message. "I'll let you know if Ana and I find out anything. Good luck."

He turned to leave but paused, turned back to Winston, and nodded in D. Va's direction.

"Word of advice," he told Winston, "If D. Va challenges you to a game of Starcraft 4, do not – I repeat, do _not_ – choose to play Protoss. She will hand you your ass. And if she chooses to play Zerg, be aware she's just being mean and will use cheap 'zergs' to beat you."

"I have no idea what any of that means but I'll keep it in mind," Winston chuckled.

"Hey guys, big shout out to my friend Jack," D. Va said before she pulled down one of her lower eyelids and playfully stuck out her tongue. "Boo, ya big meanie head!"

Jack laughed long and loud as he went through the bay doors. He figured the medical bay would be the best place to look for Ana. Seems like she had been there for the last two days and Jack had to wonder how she was doing. It was no secret they weren't getting any younger but he hoped his Second and friend was alright. When they had found each other out in the field, both hiding from the rest of the world by pretending to be dead. He was so relieved to see her. Since then, they both had been working in secret to bring down whoever destroyed Overwatch. They worked well together and Jack had to admit, of all of his fellow Overwatch comrades, Ana Amari was the one he trusted the most.

When he entered the medical bay, Fareeha Amari stood with her arms crossed leaning against the wall near one of the examination rooms. Jack hadn't gotten to know the daughter of his best friend and Second much. There was always a world to save. Looking at the woman now, he had the twinge of a few distant but happy memories of the teenage Fareeha at the Overwatch base taking everything in with wide-eyed wonder. That teenager had grown into a strong capable woman with the heart of a lion.

When she saw him, she snapped to attention, straight backed and eyes forward. She even saluted. "Sir!" she said aloud with pride and respect.

She was so much like her mother, Jack thought, but there were some things that were definitely different. The most obvious things were her height and muscle tone. Ana was no slouch but Fareeha looked as if she could be in the Olympics and win the events all by herself. Jack knew the young woman pushed herself hard to impress her mother. Jack wondered if Fareeha knew just how much Ana loved her.

"At ease, soldier," Jack said waving away the formalities. "I'm not strike commander anymore, Fareeha, but I appreciate the gesture."

The woman nodded and relaxed. She leaned back against the wall but did not cross her arms. Her attention was focused on the laboratory further in where Angela Ziegler was focused on several charts and data recordings.

"What's up, Doc?" Jack said smiling as he approached.

Angela smiled as she turned and regarded him. Unlike Fareeha, she didn't salute but Jack knew the good doctor respected him at the utmost. He had no idea what she was examining but it looked like a chart for vitals and data scans of a female.

"Good news actually, Commander," Angela said. "I was checking on some further experiments to see if treatments were working. I think we are looking at a breakthrough but I'm honestly not sure how much of this should go public. Or if it should go public at all."

Jack turned to the monitors and examined some of the notes on the female mapping. He didn't understand most of it. He could tell that it was some sort of augmentation and regeneration experiment and assumed it was in regards to Widowmaker.

"You remember the Soldier Program?" Jack asked Angela.

She nodded and looked at him sadly. "That was a good idea that could have gone better if it hadn't been rushed," she said before turning back to the monitors. "It was at an earlier time and I don't think the military was concerned for the safety of their soldiers as much as they almost salivated over the idea of making superhuman warriors."

Angela touched Jack's shoulder. "You haven't been experiencing any adverse affects lately have you?"

"No," Jack said and pursed his lips. "I was just thinking, Amélie takes a lot of what they did in the Soldier Program and goes even further. I'm sure Talon could really care less if she lived or died as long as she did her job. Still, I can't help but wonder where they got the data they have on augmentations and experimentation that she's experienced. A lot of it is familiar."

" _Ja_ ," Angela agreed. "She is, in essence, a superhuman soldier but at a great cost. I've had to use nanobots to keep her body going until it is strong enough to function more or less normally with the changes they made. So far, she is adapting perfectly. A have done a lot of research on the Soldier Program to see where it came up short and how to improve on it."

Jack gave her a sidelong glance. "Be careful playing around with that stuff, Angela. I know it can be fascinating, but some things need to be left up to God."

" _Ja_ , I know" Angela replied. "Sometimes, heaven smiles on the curious and rewards us with miracles," she turned to him fully before asking "who else is still here at Watchpoint?"

"Winston lives here," Jack began as he did a mental checklist, "You, me, Fareeha, and Ana. Torbjörn and Reinhardt left this morning. I think Jesse is hanging around somewhere or he went home. No always sure about him."

"OK," Angela sighed. "We were waiting for the right moment because we've stumbled on a miraculous accident."

"Is Amélie going to be alright?" Jack asked. "I'm sure Lena and she will be fine in London but if there's something that concerns them, they ought to know."

"It's not Amélie," Fareeha spoke up. "She's doing great as well. Angela is talking about Mama."

Jack turned and looked at Fareeha before looking at Angela with concern. There was actual fear for a moment in his eyes and he had flashbacks of when he thought she had been killed. The loss and ache for his Second and companion caused him to falter for a moment. He calmed himself quickly. Neither Angela nor Fareeha looked upset or overly concerned. Ana was fine, he told himself.

"What happened?" Jack asked softly. Even he could hear the concern in his voice and Angela noticed it as well. "I thought you were doing something for her sight."

"They were," a familiar voice said approaching. "The operation was more successful than we originally thought."

Jack started to turn, but Ana quickly ducked behind him as she placed her hands over his eyes like a game of guess who. Jack sighed and frowned.

"Oh for Christ's sake, Ana, what's gong on?" Jack growled. "You ladies have been holed up in here for two days and been acting like schoolgirls talking about which boy you like most."

Ana laughed. "Oh, believe me, these two have _not_ been having _boy_ talk," she chuckled and Jack heard Angela gasp and Fareeha growl out an exasperated "oh, Mama".

"This is something that could turn quite serious if it got out," Ana continued. "What you are about to see is going to have to be kept under wraps deeper than even our 'deaths'."

Jack took a deep, cleansing breath and straightened. "OK," he said getting mentally and emotionally prepared for whatever the women had been holding out on. "Show me what we're dealing with."

Jack felt Ana's hands slowly uncover his eyes. "How bad is it?" he asked as he turned to face her. The words died in his mouth as he saw Ana, young and beautiful, like the day she first joined Overwatch. His knees buckled, but he caught himself and stared, open-mouthed, at the woman before him. Ana went to Attention and saluted Jack before returning to a relaxed posture.

"I got my eye back," she said casually as she tapped her cheek to show off her new eye that was a lighter color of brown than her other almost black one. "Some other things we weren't counting on happened along the way."

Jack only stared but soon found himself moving towards her. Without any thought, he reached up slowly and brushed her bangs from her face before cupping her cheek. Ana only arched an eyebrow and let a smile play on her lips.

"How did you go from getting your eye back to getting your whole body like this?" Jack asked in awe. His hand never left Ana's cheek and she reached up and simply placed her hand over his.

"Careful, handsome," Ana said teasingly. "You know my daughter is standing right there."

Jack actually blushed and cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said quickly and glanced at Fareeha who also was looking at him with raised eyebrows. "It's just really a shock, you know. I guess I just had to make sure it was really … you."

Ana laughed and Jack blinked. He hadn't heard that laugh in years. It was so strange. This must be like what Tracer feels moving in and out of time, he thought.

"It's really me," Ana assured him. "Believe me, I've been seeing what all I can do for two days."

"Believe _me_ , she's almost like a child," Angela said with a laugh and Ana playfully glared at her.

"This morning, I did one hundred push-ups and sit-ups," Ana said proudly as she flexed her arm. "If these two would have let me out sooner, I could have gone for a run."

"Our tests show that she is completely healthy," Angela said to Jack. "We were afraid there were going to be side effects like rapid degeneration or, worse, she would regenerate too quickly and become even younger. We have tested everything and she's going to be completely fine."

"I feel amazing," Ana said. "I admit, I was scared to death at first and hoped this wasn't going to go from a dream come true to my worst nightmare."

"Just how far back have you regenerated?" Jack asked. "I know a gentleman never asks, but I have to admit, I'm curious."

"How old do I look?" Ana asked him slyly while making a little turn and holding out her arms.

"That is a trick question and you know it, Amari," Jack pointed at her as he smiled and shook his head.

"From what Athena says, I've regained about thirty years," Ana said holding her chin up.

"She thinks she's Isis, but we keep telling her not to push herself too hard," Fareeha grumbled.

"Oh, hush habibti," Ana half-heartedly scolded her daughter. "One hundred push-ups is nothing. You can do that in your sleep. I'm not out trying to win marathons or single-handedly trying to save the world or anything."

"Well, I envy you," Jack said. "If I could be thirty years younger, I'd take the chance," he paused as if it clicked to him what Ana and Angela had hedged about secrecy, "which is exactly why we have to keep this confidential, isn't it?"

" _Ja_ ," Angela said. "If the rest of the world learned we had tapped into a way to reverse aging, the repercussions would be tremendous! At first, people would be overjoyed. I'd probably be hailed as a hero until people striving for immortality would try to force me to make ways for them to live forever. There are too many questions like how often can we regenerate age, how far back can we regenerate, and even if it would work from individual to individual. I mean, this was a happy accident and, luckily, Ana was unharmed. What if it had caused what we feared?"

"And there are others, like Talon, who would love the chance to steal your research and try to make immortals," Jack said shaking his head. "Just like they seem to have stolen data from the Soldier Program and made Widowmaker out of it."

"Like many things, we need to keep this completely secret," Ana said. "Angela is right. This is a medical miracle that worked for me but it was strictly accidental and we don't need the rest of the world trying to kidnap her or worse."

The room froze as a low wolf whistle sounded and Jesse McCree stepped casually into the room.

"Holy cow," he said slowly walking around Ana and looking her up and down before flashing her with a wide, boyish grin. "Good Lord, Ana. I remember the earlier years of Overwatch but I'd forgotten how absolutely breath taking you are. I was a young punk back then and couldn't quite appreciate you as I should have. If you weren't my commanding officer, I'd flirt with you shamelessly."

Ana gave him a mockingly stern look and poked him in the chest. "You're still a young punk, McCree and before you start flirting, just remember there's a Mr. Amari still out there and Fareeha might also have a word about that."

Jesse held up his hands and laughed. "I ain't saying I was gonna!" he flashed Fareeha a wink which made her laugh. "I know my limits. But, I tell you what, you are a sight to behold. I think this might be what Tracer feels like going in and out of time."

"I thought that exact same thing," Jack said with a shake of his head. "I knew you were still stalking around here, boy. What brings you here?"

"Couldn't go home just yet," Jesse said with a nod. "Especially after hearing about this. Gets me to thinking about some other stuff I've had rolling around in my head."

"Like what?"

"About how Talon sure knows a lot of stuff they ain't supposed to," Jesse said with a pensive expression. "I've had some very interesting conversations with Widowmaker and, even though Amélie don't remember much unless it triggers from a stimuli or something, she's been downright helpful. Just watching her do her sniper thing the other day with Tracer had me strolling down memory lane. Only this stroll wasn't exactly a good thing."

"I thought the same thing when we had our heart to heart the other day," Ana said chewing her lip pensively. "She was fast and accurate, like any good sniper should be, but she moved like I do only faster and better and I've had years of training and experience. A lot more than the six or seven years she's had."

"They couldn't have done all those experiments and augmentations to her body overnight," Angela said. "Just lowering her heart rate alone would have taken months. If they had rushed anything, especially with vital body systems, she'd be dead and useless to them."

"Amélie told me they literally programmed her," Jesse said with narrowed eyes. "Said while they were messing with her body, they were messing with her head."

"Makes sense," Jack said. "While mentally reconditioning her to obey commands and suppress emotions and personality, they used that time to give her everything she needed to know about sniping and assassination."

"And the training they gave her did look and feel familiar," Ana said with a sudden realization. "Like Blackwatch," she whispered as if saying the name aloud would cause assassins to come out of the woodwork.

Jesse nodded and Jack grunted.

"Amélie tell you anything else or say anything about Talon's training methods?" Jack asked.

"Only thing she knows for sure is there are three top agents," Jesse held up fingers as he counted them off, "Her, Sombra, and Reaper. She was programmed and only had her training honed with field missions. I asked if she had any instructors and she told me that most of Talon were terrified of her. No one wanted to get close enough to her to train her personally. She told me Sombra is pretty much contracted and not really with Talon, just a hired mercenary who is very good at her job as long as Talon has the funds. She says Sombra is good but not good enough to get archived data past Athena. And then there's Reaper."

"Now that man is trouble," Ana said with a growl. "She have any insight on him?"

Jesse laughed. "Only that she hates him just as much as you," he replied. "Says she's never seen him without that mask he wears and that she was only with him if assigned to a mission together. She did say he seemed to be a general or maybe a high ranking officer of Talon though."

"Talon certainly has a lot of mystery," Fareeha said shaking her head. "It seems they even kept Widowmaker out of the loop when it came to all the things they were up to."

"Thing is, Amélie knows a lot and noticed a lot more than she realized," Jesse said. "Every time she remembers anything, even if it seems superficial, she reports it. If Talon has some tie with Blackwatch, she's pointed those similarities out."

They stood for a moment when the intercom beeped and they turned their attention to the large monitor of the main medical bay.

"Commander Morrison, Winston has an announcement," Athena said.

"Jack," Winston said. "D. Va might have found something, can you come to the command center?"

"On my way," Jack said and started to go before he added, "Oh, and I'm bringing Ana. You're going to want to see this to believe it."

"Sounds fun," Winston said.

"Well, c'mon gang," Jack said. "let's go see what the shrimp boat found out while she was raiding Orc camps."

"Warcraft 6 again?" Jesse asked.

"Yep, entertaining her million or so holonet fans," Jack replied.

"If she was playing the Night Elves, she wasn't even trying," Ana said with a sigh. "It's like when she plays those damn Zerg in Starcraft 4."

"Right?" Jack agreed.

3

 _Lena and Amélie's flat, England_

The water was hot on her skin. Amélie wondered if it was really as hot as she felt or it was because of her body temperature. The steam around her proved that the water was hot but she often wondered if she would burn herself one day. It was a disturbing thought.

Luckily, these uneasy thoughts faded as she heard a faint knock on the door.

"Oi, Ame," Lena said cheerfully, "I have dinner made and I didn't overcook the potatoes. I think you're gonna love them."

Amélie turned off the water and pulled back the curtain to see Lena with an excited look on her face. She was so cute, Amélie thought. She couldn't believe she was ever annoyed by this woman. Maybe she never was and pretended to be for so long. She started to step out of the shower when Lena held out a big fluffy towel.

"Are you gonna pamper me, _chérie_?" she said with a sly smile.

"I will if you want me to."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I really want to," Lena said. The sincerity in her voice made Amélie pause. Lena looked as lovely as ever. Her eyes seemed larger and softer and Amélie felt herself drawn to them. Her lips looked so inviting.

Amélie let Lena wrap the towel around her but she leaned in and wrapped her arms around her. The warmth of the shower wafted off her skin and Lena pulled the woman close. Their lips met like a slow perusal, as if it were the first time. Warm and soft, moistened by the emotions the other felt. Lena's eyes slipped closed as she moaned in pleasure, letting Amélie's mouth explore hers. Amélie hummed with pleasure as well.

"I never get tired of kissing you," Amélie said.

"It feels good doesn't it?" Lena replied with a little laugh. "No more fighting, no more, wondering what the other was thinking..."

"It is quite a relief," Amélie agreed. "Especially since I can now understand these feelings. I will never forget what you have done for me, _mon amour_. You freed me, sought me out and wouldn't give up, fought me and wouldn't give up. My heart is yours for as long as I can give it."

"I remember what you had once told me," Lena said, her breath hot on Amélie's lips. "You told me 'help me to escape from Talon's influence and I promise you, I will love you with all my heart. Teach me to feel again, to be alive again, and I will be devoted to you.' I remember those words and I hold them dear to my heart, love."

"And you do," Amélie whispered. "I feel more than I ever thought."

Lena kissed her again. The kiss seemed endless, a promise made, a connection between two hearts so unlikely to meet.

" _J'taime_ ," Lena said and Amélie smiled.

"I love you too, _mon amour_ ," she said.

They held each other for long, memorable moments until Amélie kissed Lena's cheek. "Did I hear you say something about potatoes?"

Lena laughed and took her girlfriend's hand. "Yes, and beer battered fish. We call it Fish and Chips here. Don't suppose you ever had it?"

" _Non_ ," Amélie said. "I can't say I have."

"Ah good," Lena winked at her. "You are in for a treat."

Tying the towel around her tightly, Amélie was pleased to see a plate with two fish fillets and what looked like quartered and fried potatoes enveloped in a crispy golden batter. The aroma was heavenly. There was a glass of beer sitting beside it.

"I know you normally like wine," Lena said taking a seat next to Amélie on the sofa, "but Fish and Chips just don't taste that good without beer."

"Beer is good," Amélie replied and took a sip. It was a light beer of some sort and was actually slightly sweet. She raised eyebrows as Lena took her gently by the hair and arranged it down her back.

"What are you doing?" she asked amused.

"I was thinking of cashing in that rain check to brush your hair."

"Really?" Amélie asked with wide eyes and a pleasantly surprised expression.

"Yes, really," Lena replied picking up a nearby brush.

"Not that I am complaining, but you are really romantic this evening," Amélie purred.

"I guess I'm just really happy you are here," Lena said with a thoughtful sigh. "Being able to actually be with you, with very little sneaking around, in our flat … it's just beautiful really."

Amélie hummed as she took a bite of fish. It was really good and Amélie's hum turned into a groan of joy.

"So, did I do good?" Lena asked as she expertly brushed out Amélie's long tresses.

" _Il est parfait_ ," Amélie practically moaned. "I had no idea beer cooked fish would be this nice. And you are quite the fast learner with cooking, _chérie_."

"I'm glad," Lena said and she seemed very relieved that Amélie liked it.

"You silly girl," Amélie said turning so she could look Lena in the eye. "Trying so hard to impress me. You know you don't have to go through so much trouble."

"Are you kidding?" Lena said with a smile. "You are a high class bird, love. Beautiful, sophisticated, classy with a capital C. I'm surprised I was able to nab your eye."

Amélie scoffed playfully. "Aw, _chérie_ , I remember the first words you ever said to me."

"What's that, then?"

Amélie turned to fully face her before she said "whatcha' lookin' at?" with her best British accent which sent both women into a fit of giggles.

Lena gave Amélie a kiss and went back to brushing her hair.

"I'm really glad we are here together, love."

"Me too, _mon chérie_ ," Amélie replied and took another bite of her delicious dinner.

4

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar_

To say Winston was surprised would be the understatement of the year. The others knew Winston was capable of so much more than simply mimicking human expressions and behavior, but sometimes, the gorilla was truly a marvel of nature and science. When he saw Ana, he sat for a few moments before cleaning his glasses, returning them to his face, and staring for a few more moments. Ana was about to say something when Winston actually approached her and sniffed her.

"For goodness sake, Winston, it's me," Ana laughed playfully hugging the ape. "We were keeping it a secret because we didn't know if it was safe."

"Is it safe?" he asked cautiously.

"With as many tests Angela has done since I woke up two days ago, if it's not safe, it would be a huge surprise," Ana replied. "She has a culture of nanobots in my system to monitor and make sure I degenerate suddenly or something worse."

"And your sight?"

"Outside of the slight discoloration, perfect for using a scope," Ana said. "I could do a few more things when it as cybernetic of course, but it feels good to have a natural eye to be honest."

"O … M … G," D. Va said quietly. The others honestly had forgotten she was still there. The Korean agent was like a living cartoon with an open mouth and eyes widened so far they looked like they would pop out of her face. "Dude, I need to come to Gibraltar again and soon. I'm missing out on some prime stuff! So, what happened?"

"I had a talk with Amélie and decided if I was going to be able to keep up with our new sniper, I'd need to get in better shape. That means also seeing if Angela or maybe Torbjörn could do something about my eye," Ana explained. "Long story short, we had to prepare my body to accept a major organ like an eye to be regenerated, over calibrated the nanomachines, and poof...I'm thirty again with two eyes."

"I had no idea nanomachines could do that," Winston said.

"I don't think Angela thought they could either," Jack said crossing his arms.

Angela looked a bit nervous but Fareeha stood by her side and Ana had to admit, she thought it was kind of sweet that her daughter was supporting her. They glanced at each other and Angela seemed stronger with just that look.

"We can't go announcing these developments of course," Angela said. "We don't need to be swarmed with people looking for immortality."

"I agree," Winston said. "It's probably a good thing it was only Ana. I believe you and Jack are still considered KIA?"

"Yes," Ana said glancing at Jack. "That should keep a lid on this. We'll just have to add it to all our other military and confidential secrets."

"Secret or not, I think it's pretty darn cool," Hana said with a big grin. "You know what this means? You and Fareeha can grow old together. Seriously, think about that for a moment," she sat back and allowed everyone to let that sink in.

Ana thought for a moment and looked at Fareeha before both started smiling. "Yeah," Ana agreed, "that is pretty darn cool."

"Ok, I'm glad we're all having warm happy feelings and all that but didn't you have some possible news to share with us?" Jack asked.

"Geez, Party Pooper," Hana said rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue. "Yes, I do. There's a 'ghost story' someone shared with me from the internet."

Hana uploaded a file to Athena who played it for everyone on a side monitor. "This was taken at a morgue in Sweden of all places," Hana explained as the scene unfolded.

It was security footage of the morgue. The time stamp indicated that it was sometime around three in the morning. No one would be in the morgue at that time. It showed three cadavers on autopsy tables. One was a woman and the other two looked like men. The woman was uncovered as was one of the men. The third figure was covered in a sheet. For a few minutes, nothing happened. Then, a shadow moved and then seemed to flow into the room. It solidified into a black figure that paused beside the woman before the video went to static. When the video came back on, the three bodies were gone.

"According to the Swedish papers, these three people were regular deaths," Hana said reading something on one of her own screens. "Young people who had died from different stuff. The girl was April Something-or-other – I can't read her name – and she died of a drug overdose at a party. The guy under the sheet was a drunk driving accident and the other guy was the drunk driver. All three disappeared from the morgue a week ago. I didn't think anything about it until Widowmaker pointed out that same black smoky guy from the assassination footage we saw yesterday."

"What does tall, dark, and creepy want with dead people?" Jack asked.

"I looked into their records to see if maybe Talon had caused their deaths," Hana said, "but nope. They just died from being stupid or being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I think I know where Ana and I need to go," Jack said.

"I'll pack my coat," Ana said.

"If you connect Athena to their computer, maybe she can get more of their records that weren't printed for public," Winston said.

"I'll bring the bug," Jack said.

"OK, keep in touch," Winston said. "Let's see what else we can find out, Hana."

D. Va gave Winston a two finger salute and started surfing.

Jack and Ana turned and left with Angela and Fareeha. When they were clear of the command center and down a ways towards their quarters, Ana stopped Fareeha by putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

Fareeha was surprised to find tears brimming her mother's eyes. Jack noticed them too and cleared his throat.

"I'm going to rest up," he said, excusing himself. "We'll leave for Sweden when you are ready, Captain."

Ana nodded but kept her eyes on her daughter. Angela started to turn away as well when Jack left, but Ana called to her.

"Angela, wait," Ana said. "I need to say something and it's for you too."

Angela stopped and moved close to Ana and Fareeha. Ana smiled at them both before a tear fell from her eye. Angela had never once seen Ana cry. It was heart breaking.

"Fareeha, I know you thought I was dead and it was hard for you," Ana said. Her voice remained strong even with tears slowly falling. "I am so sorry that I had to put you through that. This … happy little accident I guess we should call it, is a blessing. We can be and will be together now until both of us grow old and pass on to the afterlife. Hana, I'm sure, didn't realize the power of those words, but I feel them."

Fareeha couldn't keep her calm composure and the tears streamed from her eyes. Ana pulled her close and hugged her tight.

"I promise you, I will do everything I can to be there for you as much as possible, my daughter," Ana said patting her crying daughter's back. "I think knowing that I will be here for the rest of your life is something special and I don't intend on wasting it.

"I want you to know three things," Ana said cupping Fareeha's cheeks and wiping away her tears with her thumbs like she did when she was little, "First, I am proud of you and always have been. You have grown into a beautiful, capable woman and warrior and I am very proud of you. Second, if Angela is who you choose to be with, I may not understand what happened between you two, but I accept it and embrace it," she turned to Angela and took her hand, drawing her close as she said this, "and last, I should have said this more and I'm sorry I didn't … I love you, Fareeha."

Fareeha openly wept at that and pulled her mother in tight. Ana brought Angela into the embrace as well. For several moments, no words were said. None needed to be. When the tears finally stopped and they were calm enough to speak again, Ana kissed her daughter's forehead and then turned to a surprised Angela and did the same.

"You two behave while I'm gone," Ana said with a laugh. "I promise, Jack and I will be back as soon as we can. We've been getting into and out of messes since both of you were still children."

"Come back to us alive and well, Mama," Fareeha said.

"No worries," Ana said. "I don't want you to think Jack and I are going into the jaws of hell or anything. It's simple reconnaissance and recovery. I probably won't even bring my rifle."

"Remember, the nanomachines can heal quickly, but you are not a god," Angela said.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Oh, goodness sake, I know that," she shook her head. "Honestly, I'm young again, not stupid. If you think I regenerated a youthful sense of death-defying adventure or whatever, you can rest your pretty little head."

Ana kissed them both again before heading to her quarters.

"I'm just trying to be sure you are completely alright," Angela sighed. "We still don't know if there are any adverse side effects to this yet."

Ana turned and frowned. "Fareeha," she finally said with a huff. "Take your girlfriend to bed and do whatever you can to wear her out so she can't bother me senseless with all her overthinking."

Angela audibly gasped and Fareeha actually looked like she were going to pass out from shock.

"Mama!" she cried.

Ana said nothing as she waved the girls goodnight and laughed all the way to her room. She and Jack had a long trip ahead of them.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

1

 _Undisclosed morgue in Sweden, 21:00_

Jack and Ana worked well together. They always had. Since the early days of Overwatch, the two had been in many operations and the communication and execution of those operations proved to be nothing short of perfect. Jack had to admit to himself, a younger, stronger Ana was throwing him off his game some. Even with the enhancements he had still in his own body from the Soldier Program, he found Ana to be faster and more alert than he was.

As she had said, Ana did not pack her sniper rifle. The two opted for handguns only as this was more and get-in-and-get-out mission. Wait until dark fell, sneak inside, collect the data they needed from the computer databases, and get out to meet up with their ride. Ana had grumbled that Amélie's tactical infravision visor would have been a godsend for this, but Ana was not one to use such advanced equipment. Even younger, she still preferred to do things old school.

Jack certainly felt old school. As the lithe and exuberant Egyptian jumped and climbed, he felt his age as he lumbered after her. When he grunted softly, Ana turned with a sparkle in her eye.

"Come on, Old Man," she teased. "You can do better than that. Just because you have a spirited girl with you this time doesn't mean you're not up to par."

"I feel off my game," he admitted. "but I'm not falling behind you, Little Lady."

Ana chuckled as she took out a special set of goggles. They weren't an infravisor like Widowmaker's, but they still had good capabilities. She examined an outside door that led to a basement. There were a keypad, lock, and a camera. She took out a small device like a smartphone and made some quick settings before aiming the device at the camera. They both watched as the red light on the security camera went from a steady red to green and then blinked green. The signal had been successfully jammed, showing any night watchmen a looping footage of an empty outside door at two AM.

"Simple lock," she whispered. "We just have to have some direction of where the payload is once we're inside."

"Looking at the blueprints, I can guide you," Athena said through their comm links. "The morgue is in the lower levels. Once there, we can link up to their databases."

"I've got the data mine link," Jack said. "Once connected, how long before you download what you need?"

"I should be able to go through records pretty quickly so you won't have to stay for long," Athena answered. "Estimated download time: approximately five minutes maximum."

"This is why we love you, Athena," Jack said and Ana laughed quietly.

Jack took out a small datapad and placed it over the keypad lock outside the door. There was a series of numbers that rolled over the screen until, one by one, they stopped and the light turned green on the keypad. The door unlocked with a click.

Ana and Jack looked at each other and nodded before they slipped into the door and took positions beside it. Ana let the door close back softly with her hand. Jack pointed at his eyes and then pointed at two cameras. One was aimed at the back door and one was down the hall. The one aimed at the door was also blinking green meaning it had been reprogrammed to loop the last two minutes of recording like the one outside. The one down the hall was going to be a problem if they didn't work fast.

"Athena, we're in the building," Ana said into her comlink. "Where to from here?"

"The door to your right is unlocked. It is a stairwell," Athena said calculating a course. "From there, you and Soldier 76 will have to go down two flights and through the door marked 'morgue'. There is a camera in that hallway and a guard posted."

"Want me to take out the camera and you help the guard get some much-needed sleep?" Jack asked Ana.

She checked her gear and brought out a sleep dart and injection gun. "I've got it," she replied.

She and Jack got into position to move and as soon as the camera slowly panned away from them, they both moved quickly through the door on the right like shadows. From there, they jumped down the stairs instead of climbing down them until they reached the door Athena told them about.

Jack took out a device similar to Ana's and pointed it to where the camera down the hall was detected. After a waiting for the progress bar to go full green, the word "complete" came on screen and Jack smiled. The door clicked softly as Ana had used her lock pick device to open the keypad while Jack had been busy with the camera. She opened the door enough to peer around and saw the camera blinking green. She turned back to Jack and gave him a thumbs up gesture.

They went into the hall low and crept up on the lone night watchman who was focused on eight monitors. Ana was quick to take him down with a sleeper dart before he could even feel the prick of the dart. She removed the dart and grabbed his shoulders, letting him down gently on his desk so he would wake up peacefully in a few moments and think he must have dozed off.

"The computer console I need for the data is there," Athena said.

Jack looked around and saw the computer in question. Opening the USB device, he looked around the console until he found an open port and plugged it in.

"OK, do your thing, Athena," Jack said.

"Understood," Athena said in a monotone meaning she was going into a search and collection mode. A progress bar went from zero to one hundred percent within moments before a downloading progress bar showed.

"So does my new body cause problems for you?" Ana asked conversationally. It was unusual for her to strike up a conversation on a mission. Most of the time, Ana was down to business and didn't waste time or concentration with idle chit-chat. Jack figured since she wasn't sniping and having to concentrate on any immediate threats in that situation, some talk wouldn't be distracting from the task at hand.

"If you mean because you are just as beautiful as you were thirty years ago, don't worry," he said with a smile. "I promise I'll control myself."

Ana laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know what I mean, you flatterer," she smiled. "I mean, we always worked well together and you aren't thirty years younger. I'm not leaving you behind am I?"

Jack chuckled to himself. She genuinely meant it, he knew. She wasn't teasing him about his age but she knew that she had an edge he didn't. He was still spry for his age because of the enhancements and augmentations he had but he wasn't one hundred percent.

"Don't worry about that," he said. "I can keep up. We'll find our groove again. Always have and always will."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't have to slow down," Ana shrugged. "I may be the first over a wall or through a door, but you are always one step behind me and that's how it's always been."

"Why'd you ask then?"

"Ah, I guess I was just seeing if everything was still alright," Ana confessed. "Reinhardt and Torbjörn still don't know about my miraculous rebirth and I don't know how they'll take it."

"You having regrets?" Jack asked and Ana looked up at him sincerely before answering.

"I don't want to leave anyone behind," she answered truthfully.

"Oh, Ana," Jack said shaking his head. "Look, Mama Hen, you don't have to look after everyone. There's always a reason for everything. Sometimes, you just have to find that reason. You still have a bright, young daughter who needs her Mama more than any of us old goats do. I bet she's probably thrilled to know you are not only alive and well but now around her age again to be with her longer than before."

"Yes, we've discussed that," Ana sighed. "I would do anything for my Fareeha. That doesn't mean I neglect my duties to Overwatch. I don't give a damn about the PETRAS Act and the world and its problems don't give a damn about politics in the long run. It's not so much looking after as it is being there for you no matter if it is Fareeha or any of you." Ana shook her head sadly. "I don't want to leave anyone behind," she repeated.

"You aren't," Jack said. "If anything, you are giving us even more support than you could have done before."

Ana smiled as Athena announced the downloading was complete. Jack took the bug out and stashed it in his belt as Ana checked on the sleeping guard. She measured his breathing and pulse before nodding to Jack. The camera was still blinking green as the made their way down the hall quietly and slipped through the door and back up the stairs. As quiet as mice, they slipped back out of the building and reset the cameras back online as if nothing had happened.

"That guard will wake up in a few moments," Ana said. "His pulse was already increasing when we left."

"Any chance he'll suspect anything?" Jack asked as they reached their small transport.

"No," Ana replied. "If anything that poor boy needed some sleep. He looked like he was running on coffee."

"Good job," Jack said with a smile and a nod. "See? I can keep up. We still work well together."

He was pleasantly surprised to see Ana blush a bit. As far as he knew, Ana never blushed.

"I guess I was being foolish," she said. "This is all so new and I'm not sure how to take it yet is all."

"Stop worrying," Jack said with a laugh. "You know, worrying causes wrinkles."

Ana laughed out loud and Jack smiled. He missed her youthful laugh. It was nostalgic. Ana playfully pushed him as he joined in her laughter as they returned to Gibraltar.

2

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar, 21:00_

Angela had taken her shower first and sat listening to her beautiful Egyptian girlfriend bathing. The water made a steady, calming rhythm and the soft lilt of Fareeha's humming of some unknown tune both served to calm Dr. Ziegler. She lost in contemplation as she twisted her long blonde hair with idle fingers. She wasn't one to fidget and she wasn't sure she was happy with the idea of starting. A doctor had to have steady hands along with other attributes. Having nerves of steel was one such attribute she didn't feel much of right now.

The water turned off and Angela heard the sounds of Fareeha pulling back the curtains and the light sounds of her feet on the tiled floor. This was also something she weighed on her mind. She hadn't dreamed in a million years she and Fareeha would actually be doing...this. The fact neither of them even showed the slight interest in anything remotely homosexual or bisexual in the past only meant that they were that much more special to one another. Just thinking of Fareeha and how much they had grown together warmed Angela's heart and made her nerves settle in the most wondrous way.

Now Angela smiled as she switched from fidgeting with her hair to the tie of her comfy bathrobe. She had worn this same robe when Ana had discovered the two women in bed with each other. _Mein Gott, I was so shocked_ , Angela thought as she remembered that faithful morning. It made her laugh a bit to herself as she imagined what must have gone through Ana's head seeing her daughter in bed with someone and only to discover that someone was another woman … and the other woman being Dr. Angela Ziegler, her daughter's closest and most dear childhood friend. It turns out that it was quite a shock to all. Except for Amélie Lacroix, Angela thought. Then again, Amélie was still getting used to expressing more emotion so the girl could have been nearly fainting like Ana but still kept a calm, cool demeanor. It made her thoughts go to their new rogue assassin turned Overwatch friend. Between Ana and Amélie, Angela wondered if she had done everything she could to ensure their safety. The nanobiology was still experimental in so many ways and even she, their inventor and pioneer into applied nanobiology, was still discovering new ways it could be used. She also worried what would happen if either woman's conditions were discovered. There would be many repercussions for making someone stronger, faster, better, and even (in Ana's case), younger. Angela said a little silent prayer and asked that God watch over her and them. _Help me to stay humble and not cross into your territory,_ she prayed. She didn't mind being brilliant and helping people, but she never wanted to play god.

"You seem deep in thought," Fareeha's voice broke Angela from her meditations.

Angela opened her eyes and simply drank in the sight before her. The towel wrapped around Fareeha's body only teased at the ample curves and musculature Angela knew to be hidden underneath. The Egyptian's skin was like smooth, silk chocolate, delectable and delicious. Angela's eyes locked onto Fareeha's and she simply forgot any reply she was going to make as those dark pools, so beautiful and mysterious, drew her into their depths and a smile twitched on her sensual lips. That smile and smoldering look had Angela trembling in an eager way. Again she marveled at how these feelings of desire had grown between them.

She rose slowly, her smile growing wider as her eyes trailed up the woman's body. Her skin, still damp from the shower, hot from the water, was so warm and inviting. Fareeha stiffened only slightly as Angela closed the short distance between them and ran long slender fingers over exposed shoulders. Fareeha's breath hitched as the cool fingers caressed her heated skin.

The woman was a glorious expedition to the Swiss doctor. She wanted to explore everything. Every curve, every thought, every desire. This was all new, undiscovered territory, and Angela intended on paying attention to even the smallest details.

Fareeha moaned slightly as Angela cupped her face and pressed soft lips to hers. Their eyes drifted closed as Fareeha's own hands moved with gentle slowness up the doctor's hips to her slender waist. Even through the bathrobe, Fareeha could feel the slender curves and softness Angela had underneath and it made her head spin. All thoughts were lost to sensation as she boldly parted her lips and swept her tongue delicately into Angela's mouth. Fareeha was rewarded with a moan of her own as Angela involuntarily pulled her body closer to hers.

As the kiss intensified, the cloth of their respective coverings became too rough and uncomfortable. Fareeha pulled with a swift, easy motion of her hand to loose the towel that wrapped around her. As it fell to the floor with a quiet plop, the heat of her now bared body flowed like the steam from the shower and Angela hummed.

Angela broke the kiss and Fareeha actually gasped at the change in touch. She was naked in more ways than one before Angela, baring her body and soul before her friend turned lover, and the intense, primal look in her normally calm and reserved friend's eyes as she gazed on her body was enough to make Fareeha burn inside.

Angela reached up and pulled her robe open slowly, letting it slide off her shoulders. The display had Fareeha literally panting with need. Angela's skin was like ivory, so beautiful and in stark contrast to the darker brown of her own. The dark and light of their hair, skin, and eyes always fascinated Fareeha and peaked her desires. Angela was so beautiful.

As the angel padded with sensual slowness, to take Fareeha into her arms once more, Fareeha ran her fingers through the hair like spun gold.

"You are so beautiful," Fareeha whispered with such reverence, Angela breathed in her words like much-needed air.

"I was just thinking the same of you," Angela sighed.

Their lips met again and again, building the heat between them. Ivory met mocha as curves pressed to one another. Their limbs began to tremble and Fareeha had just enough cognitive thought to maneuver them to the bed. Angela squealed with a small laugh as their bodies tumbled and bounced on the welcoming mattress.

Angela moaned as Fareeha's body pressed upon hers. She arched into full breasts squashing her own with delightful pressure. Their legs entwined, long and smooth, touching and caressing everywhere their hands wouldn't reach as the lovers frantically grazed and explored the other.

Fareeha kissed down Angela's chin and fervently licked and raked her teeth on the doctor's smooth throat. Angela groaned Fareeha's name aloud and ran her hands over the deep curves of the woman's lower back and buttocks, leading her lover between her legs. The press of Fareeha's thigh to the hot, wet center made Angela gasp and moan even louder.

They writhed and touched, licked and kissed, and gave and took until, at last with the twitching aftershocks of climaxes abundant, they collapsed into each other's arms. Angela held Fareeha tightly as her body sang with the song that her lover had so masterfully played. Fareeha panted out her name and Angela smiled as she drew the woman closer to her and wrapped her arms and legs around her. Their pulses raced so fast and strong, Fareeha could feel Angela's heart through her chest and knew that Angela could feel hers in return.

Angela snuggled closer to Fareeha and breathed her in. "Fari?" she asked softly.

"Mmm?"

"I just wanted to say, I'm glad things are like this with us."

Angela felt Fareeha smile on her cheek. "I am too, habibti," she said before giving Angela a kiss where her lips were touching. "You were still worried about Mama, weren't you?"

"A little," Angela admitted. "You have to admit, it is scary."

"One thing about Mama, she is a tough one worthy of being called a warrior," Fareeha said. "And besides, you are a brilliant scientist and doctor, Angela Ziegler."

Angela turned her head to look Fareeha in the eye while absently caressing her face. The gold beads clinked softly as her fingers played with ebony braids. "You really think that about me?"

"More than that," Fareeha said with a warm intensity. Those eyes melted with Angela's and captivated her. "It's something I've always loved about you."

Angela's eyes widened a bit at the words and Fareeha's mirrored the reaction in surprise before she laughed a bit to herself. She leaned in and kissed the beautiful doctor. "I will say this with bold conviction," she whispered, her breath warm and playful on Angela's lips, "I love you."

Angela's mouth opened with surprise and Fareeha bit her own lower lip. She knew she was being brave saying this. They had only just discovered their affections and Angela was taken aback. She really looked at the woman laying beside her, the fierceness and determination of a soldier mixed with the passion and beauty of a woman, and it opened her eyes to the strength and magnificence that was Fareeha Amari.

Angela sat up slightly but only so she could kiss Fareeha with so much sincerity that it left the Egyptian breathless once more.

"Oh, Fari," Angela breathed holding the dumbstruck woman, dizzy with passion. "I love you too. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

Fareeha huffed a laugh and kissed Angela again. "I had to tell you how I felt," she said. "I have felt it for so long and yet I didn't know that was what I was truly holding in my heart for you."

" _Mein Herz gehört dir_ ," Angela said. When Fareeha raised an eyebrow and smiled, Angela translated with a laugh. "I mean, my heart is yours, Fari."

"As is mine to you," Fareeha said.

They lay tangled in their heat and limbs feeling the tug of welcomed sleep before something occurred to Fareeha.

"Angela?"

"Mmm?"

"We locked the door this time, right?"

Angela shook with giggles in Fareeha's arms before she caught her breath and replied "Yes, _meine Geliebte_. We should be safe and sound from any surprise visits from your mother or anyone else."

"Good," Fareeha said nuzzling Angela's cheek. "I don't like quality time to be interrupted."

3

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar 09:00_

Angela woke to find her bed empty and was a little more than disappointed. She looked around confused until she remembered that Fareeha often did her workouts in the mornings. Thinking of the woman keeping her awesome body in tip-top shape had Angela grinning from ear to ear. She rose from the bed and quickly got dressed before heading out.

The hallway was quiet but that too was expected. The bedside clock had said it was only nine in the morning. Angela decided coffee would do her some good. After she had a cup, she could go to the gym and spy on her girlfriend.

The smell of coffee filled the room as she entered. No one was around it seemed. Poor coffee, Angela thought amused, all alone with no one to enjoy it. She lifted the pot and poured a cup. The aroma alone had her moan in pleasure. It was some kind of rich blend, the good stuff. Angela was about to wonder who had made good coffee when she turned and saw Fareeha leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed and a smile gracing her lips.

"Turkish blend," Fareeha said with a playful wink. "I got some last time I was out with Helix. I thought you might like it. I was going to get you a cup and surprise you but you woke up."

"I didn't mean to spoil your surprise," Angela said taking a sip. She involuntarily moaned as the beverage washed over every taste bud she thought she had. To say this was merely coffee would have been a grave injustice to the ambrosia she had poured into her cup.

Fareeha chuckled. "You like it," she stated more than asked. It was pretty obvious that Angela was enjoying her morning surprise just fine.

"Oh, this is good," Angela agreed. "More than good. Thank you, _liebling_."

Fareeha strode up quietly as Angela stood and kissed the woman softly on the forehead. "It's still early so Mama and Jack haven't returned from their mission yet."

"I hope everything went as planned," Angela said with a frown.

"Of course it did," Fareeha said. "Like she said, they've been doing stuff like this since we were kids."

"We can always check in with Winston later, see if he's gotten a report back," Angela said with a pointed look.

"You know me so well," Fareeha said, shaking her head with a little laugh.

"I knew that's why you were up so early," Angela said with an arched eyebrow and a playful poke in Fareeha's ribs. Angela was pleasantly surprised to find soft skin taut over muscle but more pleasantly surprised Fareeha twitched in an adorable way. It was very endearing that the Egyptian Amazon was secretly ticklish.

"Ok, yes," Fareeha admitted. "I guess I worry too."

"Fari, she's your Mama," Angela said tilting her head. "Like you said last night, she is strong enough to be worthy of called a warrior but you still love and worry about her."

Uttering that four letter word had both of them quietly contemplating other things. Their eyes met and they both knew what the other was thinking. It had been a big confession and Angela studied the myriad of emotions playing in the depths of Fareeha's dark eyes. She saw surprise, a little fear, and then it morphed into determination and acceptance. The woman meant what she had said. She loved her. Angela felt herself relax as she knew Fareeha was going through the same thoughts as she was.

"As if you had to ask," Angela said quietly as she sat aside her coffee mug. She wrapped her arms around Fareeha and held her tight. "I know exactly what you are thinking, _mein liebling_. I know it was a little scary for you. It's a little scary for both of us. I will tell you this though: I love you. I am not ashamed or going to hide my feelings for you."

"Nor I you," Fareeha agreed.

They stood like that for a while before they heard Athena beep in over the intercom.

"Sorry for interrupting," she said, "I thought I would let you know Agents Amari and Morrison are returning."

"Ah, perfect," Fareeha sighed in relief. "Now we can how Mama did out in the field with her renewed youth."

Angela laughed. "You think we ought to tease her about being alone with an older man?"

Fareeha lit up and smiled broadly. "Oh my God, yes," she said holding back a fit of laughter. "We have to tease her _mercilessly_ about that."

4

The night was clear and quiet. Her thoughts had been confusing. It was like another voice was in her head. She had retreated to the kitchen to try and calm her restlessness but the thoughts were insistent.

She tried to make some coffee. In hindsight, coffee would have been worse for her insomnia but she was more concerned about her nerves and these never ending thoughts. She looked around the kitchen and realized she didn't know where she was. It was like a dream and she couldn't wake up. The table and chairs and the pattern of the wallpaper were vaguely familiar but she couldn't remember why. The tile felt cold on her bare feet and she concentrated on the feeling as the chill crept up her legs. Her heart beat calm and slow and the chill spread from there too. She felt cold as if she were fading away while standing in the kitchen. She ran her hand over the wooden table and felt the smooth surface of it. Her fingers tingled at the touch.

She felt confused and aching for … she didn't know. It gnawed at her like the strange thoughts. It was a hunger she couldn't appease. She pressed her hand to her chest and her heart beat again, calm and slow while her mind raced. She wasn't anxious or scared but she should have been. She _knew_ she should have been but it was like her body had forgotten how to feel these things.

She heard a noise from the bedroom. The man sleeping there had turned over to get more comfortable. He didn't even realize she was not in the bed with him. She stood, motionless, listening as he mumbled something before his breathing evened out and he was once again fast asleep.

Another strange thought invaded her mind. She felt the man from the bedroom and his presence called to her like a siren to a ship at sea. Her mind, confused and muddled, became clear and focused. She moved to the bedroom and saw his sleeping form. She studied it. The rise and fall of his chest as he slept away in blissfulness while she suffered. She couldn't feel anything but cold. Something was missing. She didn't feel like she was truly alive anymore. Her heart beat in her chest but only spread the ache, the emptiness, like a void that needed to be filled.

She found herself at his bedside table with the drawer opened. She didn't remember opening it. One moment she was focusing on the dull throb of her chest and the next, she was here, taking hold of the gun he kept in the bedside table for protection. The metal was warm in her hand. She found it strange and it comforted her. As she looked at the gun in her tiny hand, the warmth spread to her limbs, bringing with it a sense of purpose and stability to the confusing and tormenting thoughts in her head.

She looked at him once more, his face slack with sleep. The face was distorted in the darkness of the room, but she could make out dark hair and a thin mustache above slightly parted lips. The essence of him emanated from the bed the very life of him calling to her. Her heart beat calm and steady.

As she stood, motionless and staring at the sleeping form of the man in the bed, she realized what was gnawing at her: a lack of life or being. She was dying slowly while standing in the bedroom.

Her hand went to her chest as she felt for the pulse. It was still there, still calm and steady, but her mind was still restless. The need clawed at her like a hungry animal. The need for life, comfort, feeling … she was dying and she needed these things to live. She wanted to live. Fear and panic set in but her heart strangely stayed steady.

 _Take his life_ , the thoughts whirled in her addled brain. _He has what you need._ She swayed on her legs, unsure and weak, as she leaned in and felt the heat from his skin. Her lips grazed his cheek and then his lips tickled slightly by the hairs on his upper lip and the puff of warm breath. It made her swoon. She needed it. She was dying.

He moved some in his sleep as she touched him with gentle soft caresses. It wasn't enough to just touch him. She needed more. The gun felt welcome in her hand and she lifted it. In a smooth motion, almost natural, she knew it would be her salvation. Freedom from this feeling of being dead. She had to take his life to renew hers.

The first shot rang out loud and bright in a flash of white. It made her jerk at the suddenness of it and her ears rang as it echoed through the house. His body jerked once as it suddenly woke him. His eyes popped open wide, confusion, pain, and fear clouding their normal hue. She couldn't tell what color they were. She couldn't recall.

He started to say something, his mouth working but no voice came as the second shot rang out. He twitched again as it hit him. His face contorted in pain. His eyes locked onto hers in the dark. She watched as the light faded from them. She felt the warmth flee from his body and warm hers. As his final breath escaped slowly from his lips, she closed her eyes and felt it. Her heart beat calm and steady. Warmth spread to her extremities and she found herself smiling. She felt alive again. His life was now hers and she felt it coursing through her. Her thoughts were clear, her body warm, and she felt a laugh of joy bubble in her throat.

The feeling was unimaginable. She couldn't remember ever feeling like this before. Her body vibrated with the stolen life and filled her with light and joy she had never experienced. As her eyes slowly opened and focused on the body in the bed, her breath hitched and the warmth that was spreading through her stopped. Cold terror gripped her like water extinguishing a fire.

The man was no longer there. The body before her was thinner, curvier, with long limbs and a heart-shaped face. Wide brown eyes she knew should be full of life were only staring back at her, their light gone. Full lips parted in shock and no mustache sat on the upper part. The woman's messy, spiky hair, so familiar, lay haphazardly about her head as her lifeless body cooled in a slowly spreading pool of blood that dripped on the floor, calm and steady.

 _Lena_ , she thought. _Oh, my_ chérie, _what have I done?_

Amélie's eyes flew open as she heard Lena's voice. "C'mon, love," Lena was saying. "It's alright, you're just having a dream. Wake up, baby."

Amélie felt warm arms encircling her and holding her as her body shook. Lena was holding her she realized. She was alive and holding her. The girl's pulse was racing and she could feel sweat run down her skin. It took her a moment to understand the sweat was her own.

Lena moved to hold her face and look her in the eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Amélie nodded and took a deep breath. " _Oui_ ," she sighed and placed her hand over Lena's. "Did I … did I hurt you?"

"No, sweetheart," Lena said calmly with a small smile. She caressed Amélie's cheek with her slender fingers and brushed stray strands of long hair from her eyes. "My French still isn't fluent but you were muttering in your sleep and I think I caught the words 'cold' and 'dying'. You started groaning and tossing so I knew right away you were having a nightmare."

" _Oui,_ " Amélie said. She looked into Lena's eyes as if reassuring herself that the woman was indeed alive and here. She leaned in and kissed Lena, placing her hands on the woman's slender hips. She relished the feel of her skin and lips, giving her the relief and emotion she was struggling so hard to feel.

In the forefront of her mind, she knew now that she didn't need to take life to feel alive. She needed Lena to fill that void. She wasn't alone and she wasn't dying. Talon had only made her feel that way to force her to kill.

Lena held her close, pressing her forehead to hers and brushing her hair with her fingers.

"I don't normally dream," Amélie admitted. "It is frightening."

"Angela said you'd have vivid dreams," Lena replied. "I think it's all part of your PTSD and your mind coping with the conditioning wearing away."

"It was terrifying, _chérie,_ " Amélie whispered and her breath shook with fear. She didn't think she'd ever feel fear again. She didn't like it.

Lena kissed her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm not going anywhere, love," she whispered while rubbing the woman's back in calming strokes. "I love you and we're in this together, ok?"

Amélie nodded and kissed Lena's neck which made the little woman giggle a bit. " _Je t'aime_ ," she whispered. "You know I would never willingly do anything to hurt you, _non?_ "

"I know," Lena said. "Did you dream of hurting me?"

"I think it was repressed memories of when I killed Gérard," Amélie said. She took a steadying breath as Lena continued to calmly rub her back. "I relived it. I remembered all the things I felt and saw and then, it wasn't him lying in the bed, bleeding out. It was you."

She squeezed her eyes shut and embraced Lena tighter. "I never want to hurt you, _chérie_ ," she said and felt tears burn in her eyes. Emotions were still a distant memory for her but some things could no longer be held back or forgotten. The ache in her chest was like a cold fist. She struggled to breathe as the tears fell.

Suddenly, she felt the warmth of a hand calmly caress her back once more. Slender fingers traced the lines of her Widow tattoo and down her spine before slowly running up again to her shoulder. Her breathing steadied and she closed her eyes, feeling Lena's fingers touch her, anchoring her to the here and now. Lena's breath blew gently on her neck and rustled her hair. It was pleasing and perfect. Her pulse beat and Amélie could feel it in place of her own. She didn't need to take life to feel alive. She wasn't dying. Lena was more than willing to share her life. Amélie snuggled into the woman and hummed softly at the pure reassurance that flowed through her at Lena's touch and presence. This was what she truly needed.

Lena yawned and tried to keep it in, but ended up failing miserably. Amélie laughed and kissed the cute Brit.

"We can go back to sleep," Amélie said. "I'm alright."

"Are you sure?" Lena asked concerned. It was so touching and Amélie couldn't help but smile. "I could make you some tea or even a glass of wine if you want."

" _Non_ ," Amélie said as they settled back into bed. "All I need is you."

Lena kissed her and lay her head on her chest. Amélie thought it was odd.

"What are you doing, _chérie?_ "

"Shh," Lena replied and continued to lay still before saying "ba-bump".

A few seconds passed and she said it again before lifting up and snuggling closer to Amélie and placing a hand flat against her chest.

"As long as this heart beats, no matter how slow it beats, you are very much alive, love," Lena said gently. "I will be right with you. You aren't alone. I love you."

Amélie felt Lena kiss her softly as she drifted off to sleep with no fear.

5

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar_

The transport landed in the well hidden Watchpoint helipad. Fareeha and Angela stood nearby as the cargo doors opened and Jack and Ana exited the ship. It was still a sight to see as Ana smiled and embraced her daughter.

"You were worried the whole time, weren't you?" she asked and Fareeha rolled her eyes and huffed a laugh.

"Not the whole time," she said.

"Mhmm," Ana said with a laugh. "As you can see, I'm fine. Everything went smoothly."

"Angela and I were more worried about Jack," Fareeha said.

Jack scoffed and Angela giggled. Ana gave Fareeha a mock scowl and poked her daughter playfully.

"Jack has nothing to worry about," Ana said. "We've been alone on missions together many times."

"I dunno," Angela drawled. "Jack has been known to be quite the charmer. Especially with a beautiful _young_ woman accompanying him."

She gave Jack a playful elbow who huffed a laugh as they walked towards the command center.

"If you must know, Ana is, first and foremost, a lady and a comrade in arms," Jack said giving Ana a playful wink. "We're all business when on a mission."

"Well, there was that one time in Giza," Ana said with a sigh and a smile.

"Oh, yeah," Jack said mirroring her gaze as they looked at each other in a loving way. "I remember that. I still remember how cold the desert got and how we warmed up."

Angela and Fareeha stopped in their tracks. Both looked dumbfounded with their mouths gaping.

" _Mein Gott_ ," Angela said quietly. Fareeha was stunned.

Ana and Jack looked at them before looking at each other and laughing loudly. Jack was laughing so hard he choked and Ana had to wipe tears from her eyes.

"Oh, now that was way more fun than I had thought it would be," Ana said trying to catch her breath.

"Their expressions are priceless," Jack agreed. "If D. Va were actually here, I'd have her take a picture with her smartphone and post it all over social media."

"You mean, you two have never really…?" Fareeha squeaked.

Ana put her arm around Jack's waist and hugged him close. "No, we've never been intimate," she answered. "We've been through a lot of fun and hell together but we're not secretly in love or anything."

They laughed again as Angela and Fareeha looked at one another before they started walking again. Ana and Jack looked back at them and chuckled.

"You two are just mean," Fareeha said trying to keep her smile from showing.

"In all seriousness," Angela said shaking her head, "you didn't feel strange or experience anything odd?"

"No," Ana said. "I felt good. Heart rate was good, not short of breath, or anything. Of course, Jack and I didn't do anything really exhausting. My vision was good and my reactions were quick and steady."

"Yep," Jack said. "If anything, I felt like I was lagging behind a bit."

"You weren't," Ana assured him. "I dunno what all you've been through, but you are anything but slowed down."

"And as soon as we get this download to Athena to analyze, I'm going to enjoy some rest."

"Maybe a beer," Ana suggested.

Jack nodded and pointed at his partner in crime. "Now, that sounds like a plan. I'll buy."

"Seriously," Fareeha said rolling her eyes and laughing. "You two are incorrigible."

The command center was in full swing as communications flashed in several different languages on different screens. Winston was eating peanut butter and bananas while Athena calculated and cross-referenced data. Jack and Ana said their greetings as Jack inserted the bug into an open port.

"Security was rather light," Jack said. "You'd think that, with bodies missing, they would have the place locked down better."

"Lack of manpower," Winston said. "That was a smaller facility. There were a couple of other thefts from morgues in Stockholm and Berlin."

"Why there?" Ana asked.

"Same thing as this morgue we just visited," Winston replied bringing up some stories from local papers and news feeds. "The bodies being stolen match certain criteria though. This time, two young women were taken from Stockholm and the other bodies, males, were left behind. In Berlin, one was taken and the others, who were either male or older, were left."

"So the body thieves are only taking young women who have died recently?" Angela asked. "I hate to say this, but what if we are dealing with necrophiliacs?"

"Reaper and Talon would be up to something more than selling young bodies to perverted freaks," Jack said. "What was the last known activity Talon was up to?"

Winston looked up files and adjusted his glasses. "Kusanagi, Japan," he replied. "We broke up their operation there and extracted Widowmaker."

"Outside of the rescue mission for Amélie, what was Talon after?" Fareeha asked.

Winston read through the reports quickly. "Cybernetic prototype data," he said. "Some of the more medical research for limb replacements and even fully functioning prosthetic implants and replacements for paralysis victims and those who wouldn't benefit from applied nanobiology."

All eyes glanced at Angela who cleared her throat. "The Japanese have been working on cybernetics for years," she said. "True, some of my research is used and they expand on it. They hope to make cybernetics so close to real organic organs and parts that it will be flawless … cosmetically speaking, of course. We've all seen what I could do for Genji. Kusanagi hopes to do that only make them look nothing like robots."

"Kusanagi has also been known to have some underhanded business," Jack said with a growl. "The cybernetics stint is a cover for some of their other more unsavory practices and deals."

"They are in league with Talon?" Fareeha asked.

"Amélie said that Kusanagi had not held up their end of the bargain with Talon," Winston said. "All she knew was Talon was taking whatever they could grab as an act of espionage. In her own words, she was only there to provide cover as Reaper took the payload but she wasn't informed of what that payload contained."

"Sounds like they used Amélie only for muscle and didn't give her anything more to work with than 'kill this target' or 'secure this area'," Ana said with a frown.

"She was not a true agent," Fareeha said. "At least not in Talon's eyes. She was only a weapon to be used."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they thought about Amélie and how much she had proven herself to them in such a short time. All she had been through was more than just the physical and psychological abuse they already knew about.

"I'm glad we got her out of that," Angela said quietly and Fareeha touched her arm in a comforting way.

"So now we have to wonder what the hell Talon is up to," Jack said. "Why the bodies?"

"And where will they strike next," Fareeha said.

It was quite strange and, so far, no one had answers. Even Amélie hadn't known any information. It seemed Talon was secretive even to their own agents. That was highly disturbing.

"Athena and I will keep going over anything we find," Winston said. "D. Va is surfing information as well. If anything comes up, we'll know it."

"Right then," Jack said. He tapped Ana's arm and nodded towards the outside. She nodded and started to follow him. As she passed Angela and Fareeha, she motioned for them to follow as well. Once they were outside the command center, Jack cleared his throat.

"So, the same tavern?" he asked.

"Sounds good," Ana said. "You girls wanna come? If not I'm sure Jack and I would be ok getting sloshed with each other...alone." She grinned in a mischievous way and wiggled her eyebrows which had Angela and Fareeha laughing.

"We could use the time," Angela said.

"Yeah," Fareeha said, throwing her arm around Ana's shoulders affectionately. "Now that you're young again, I can drink you under the table."

"Oh," Ana said with a playful poke in her daughter's ribs. "Is that a challenge?"

"We'll have to make a good wager," Fareeha said. "Maybe Angela can join in on it?"

"Oh no you don't," Jack said with a laugh. "Angela is Swiss and that means German ancestry. I'd rather try to out drink Reinhardt."

"Well, if you can't keep up, Old Man," Ana said with a laugh. "especially to a girl..."

"Now, you've done it," Jack said with a nod and a grin. "Count me in."

6

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar_

It had been several hours and Winston was sure that Talon had eluded them once more. There had been no other reports and he was losing patience. Even D. Va had said the holonet had been quiet for news. He was just about to give up when a holonet call from D. Va flashed onscreen.

"D. Va is trying to reach us," Athena confirmed before encrypting the data as it streamed.

"Put her through," Winston replied and adjusted his glasses.

Hana Song appeared on her private screen as she appeared on the main monitor. Winston knew she was encrypting as well to make double sure she wasn't to be traced. It meant she had gotten a hold of something she may or may not be in trouble for having.

"D. Va," Winston said in greeting, "what did you find?"

"Athena has to make sure this is completely covered," Hana said with wide eyes. "It may get us in real trouble if it gets out."

"Sure," Winston nodded and checked readouts.

"I am pushing data encryption to level six," Athena said.

"OK," Hana sighed. "That should be alright. This is some footage of an assassination that just happened a few hours ago in England of all places."

Winston wondered if Tracer and Widowmaker had heard anything about that. D. Va was probably right about it being secret. The media outlets probably wouldn't report it if it wasn't someone in the spotlight.

"Who was it?" Winston asked.

"One of the members of the Omnic Rights Association," D. Va said. "I think they might be keeping it under wraps or trying to keep it quiet so there's no panic."

"Especially after Mondatta," Winston said sadly. He knew Widowmaker had only been a pawn in that assassination but the omnic leader was still dead because of her. It had caused some backlash in the human/omnic relations.

"Right," D. Va agreed. "I'm not sure how the news will handle this, but this is footage I got. It's not much but I got a pretty good still shot of our 'Widowmaker'. As far as I can see, it's the same girl from that footage video we had before."

She clicked some keys and Athena showed a file being uploaded. Once complete, she opened it on another monitor. The image was blurry but showed the same woman from the video footage they had before. Seeing this still photograph, Winston could tell right away that it was not Amélie.

"Definitely not Amélie Lacroix," Winston confirmed. "This woman is shorter and has different muscle tone. She has shorter hair too."

Athena zoomed the image in as best as she could without losing resolution. The face was obscured with specialized goggles that Winston and D. Va assumed to be like Widowmaker's infrared tactical visor.

"Maybe we can try a face recognition?" D. Va suggested.

"We can give it a try," Winston said. "No idea if we will get anything."

"I can run a diagnostic facial recognition on all known security or police databases," Athena stated.

"That might work," Winston said.

"I'm sorry I don't have more," Hana said with a frown. "If anything comes up, I'll definitely let you know."

"No problem," Winston said. "This is actually a lot, Hana. At least we can try to see who this is and why she's taking Amélie's place."

"I wonder what Talon is really up to," Hana said quietly. "I mean, I have to admit, I'm a little freaked that they have a new Widowmaker. I wonder who she was and, if they did the same thing to her as they did Amélie, what's to stop them from doing it again?"

"And this is just one," Winston said, remembering the debriefing they had. "Those other two assassinations were done too close together to be just one woman."

"True," Hana said. "Not only do we need to find out who is becoming Talon's new assassin squad, we need to find out where they are training them."

"Oh dear," Athena said suddenly. "Winston, D. Va, this might take a while."

"What's wrong?" Winston said.

"This woman is in no police or security database for facial recognition so far and I've checked Interpol first and any known international criminals."

"Oh, man!" D. Va said with horrified eyes. "O M G, that means she's another innocent turned bad guy?"

"I wouldn't put anything past Talon after meeting and working with Amélie," Winston growled. "From the looks of things, she seems to be Caucasian with a European decent. Knowing what happened with Amélie, look for any missing persons that match her description and age."

"I shall go through any personal records but this may take a while," Athena said.

"Well, let me know if something comes up from your search," D. Va said. "I'll keep in touch."

"Gotcha," Winston said. "And Hana? Thanks. I mean … uh … GG."

Hana giggled and gave her salute and a kiss before her camera connection turned off. Winston looked at the picture of the woman in the picture. The blurred face told him nothing yet. As Athena mapped out facial features and went through databases worldwide, the gorilla stretched and scratched his head.

"Just who are you?" he asked the unknown woman. She only stared back in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

1

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar_

The search had gone on through the night and it was early morning when Athena alerted Winston. He had reclined in a huge tire swing and was actually snoring when the computer called his name.

"Winston, are you awake?" Athena said.

Winston blinked a couple of times and took note of his surroundings before picking up his glasses and putting them on his face. "Yes, Athena, I'm here," he yawned and stretched. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes, and I know I'm not really programmed for surprise, but I think I am feeling it," she said. "For lack of a better term, this is simply unbelievable."

Winston moved to the monitors and looked over all the displays. Many news articles cross referenced were scattered in descending windows along one screen as key words were being searched and researched across any news stories and media outlets worldwide. One window in the far right corner showed D. Va sound asleep on her desk with an empty Mountain Dew bottle next to her sweet face. This made Winston chuckle to himself.

"What have we got?" he asked. The blurry image of the new Widowmaker assassin appeared on the main screen.

"I used facial recognition to go through databases according to apparent race, nationality, and age for this woman and found a hit in the most unusual place." Athena caused a red mesh to capture some of the facial features around the eyes, nose, face spacing, forehead, and other areas before a picture of the same woman came up in another window and those same meshes appeared one after another on the new picture before the word MATCH flashed on the screen.

"Who is she?" Winston asked squinting up at the monitor.

"That's the surprising part," Athena said. "I was multitasking and going over the data collected from the morgue Agent Amari and Soldier 76 retrieved and it found a match among the reported deceased."

"What?" Winston said with shock. His voice was loud enough to wake D. Va.

"Ugh, game over, man," she mumbled grumpily as she picked up the Mountain Dew bottle, lifted it to her lips, found it empty, and, finally, looked down the bottle neck before shrugging and chucking it into a nearby wastebasket. "What's up? What I miss?"

"Apparently, our mysterious Widowmaker is dead," Winston said.

"O M G! No way!" Hana said with a gasp. "Oh no! Is Lena ok?"

"Not _Amélie_ ," Winston said with a shake of his head. "The new one we were trying to identify."

"Oh, wow," Hana said placing a hand to her chest and catching her breath. "Geez, Big Guy, way to give a girl a heart attack first thing in the morning!"

"Sorry, I haven't gotten details yet," he explained. "I guess I should have been more specific."

"The assassin is April Sherman," Athena said. "According to her autopsy reports from the morgue, she was killed from overdosing on recreational narcotics."

"Holy crap on a cracker!" Hana said suddenly wide awake. "That's April What's-her-name that was one of the three bodies Reaper and Talon swiped!"

"How?" Winston asked incredulous. "She had her overdose and died before the assassinations we've seen. How is it her?"

"If Talon learned a way to make zombies, we're in deep trouble," Hana said quietly. "Seriously, this is creepsville."

"The cause of Ms. Sherman's resurrection is unknown at this time," Athena said. "perhaps we should try and capture her?"

"Good idea, but we have to figure out where she will strike next," Winston said scratching his head.

"Well, we can check out Talon assassinations in the past few weeks and get an idea of who they are targeting," Hana suggested.

"And we can see if they have stolen any more bodies," Winston added. "Let's see where that leads us."

Silence came over the lab as Winston, Athena, and D. Va all surfed and searched as quickly as they could, going over every detail. News reports and media reports from all over flashed on screens and were analyzed and cross-referenced.

"It looks like they are messing with people involved with omnic/human relations," Hana said. "Last four targets were speakers for omnic rights or business owners and supporters of the Free Omnic Rights Activist Organization. They've killed two main business partners, a CEO, and an omnic spokesman for Free Omnic Rights. He's the second omnic assassinated after Mondatta."

"Nothing about bodies stolen," Winston said. "But there was a riot at the last assassination site it seems. It was a big one with injuries and even a few deaths."

"Yeah, I'm looking at it now," Hana said. "If you needed young capable bodies for whatever they are doing, it seems likely you can have your pick from the twenty or so who were killed at this rally in Berlin."

"Wow," Winston said. "Did they bomb the place?"

"No," Hana said tapping keys. Her screen lit up her face in an eerie blue. "When Max Schmitt, thirty five year old assistant direct of Multen Industries and omnic rights supporter, was shot down, panic ensued and many were trampled or crushed as people freaked out. They count fifty injuries and around twenty five deaths. Says shots were also fired in the crowd to try and cause as much panic as possible."

"That's so they could cause the deaths without damaging the bodies too much," Winston deduced. "Very clever of Talon to do that. When was this?"

Hana scrolled up to the top of the article. "The night before last," she answered. "They couldn't have stolen these bodies because the police are involved with the autopsies to identify as many as possible before releasing them to the families for burial. That means we have some time to ambush some potential Talon grave robbers. The bodies were taken to the city morgue in Berlin. There's going to be extra security there since Berlin is a bigger place."

"Right," Winston grunted. "Talon won't care. They'll burst in and kill any that get in their way."

"There is a potential target for assassination," Athena spoke up. When Winston and Hana looked up, Athena shared a new feed from last night.

"Prime Minister Elizabeth Wright will be speaking this Thursday in Kings Row at the Mondatta Memorial," the news announcer said with a smile and a proud voice. "The Prime Minister aims to speak hope and unity against those who would try to bring an end to human and omnic relations."

The screen cut to a press conference where the strong and determined face of the Prime Minister spoke to a bevy of reporters.

"We will not be swayed or bullied by terrorists," she said proudly as flash photography lit around her like a thunderstorm. "These cowards try to keep us from working together in peace and harmony with our omnic friends and England, for one, shall not stand for it!"

The screen cut back to the reporter in the news studio. "The Prime Minister hopes there will be an excellent turnout and that this gathering will bring with it strength and harmony between all of England's citizens, human and omnic alike."

"It seems foolish to gather so many people in one place," Winston said with a disapproving growl. "It's almost like she is asking Talon to come swooping in and cause trouble."

"That's because she understands you can't hide and let the bad guys do what they want," a voice said proudly. Winston turned and D. Va smiled and waved as Jack Morrison stepped up into view. "England's Prime Minister is one hell of a lady and I admire the woman's bravery. She is willing to stand up and fight the only way she knows how. She understands that if you back down and you hide in fear, the bad guys win without having to even lift a finger."

"It's not like she won't have all of Britain's finest covering her," D. Va added. "We're talking the local police, security, special forces..."

"And two of our finest Overwatch agents," Jack said with a level look. "Good thing Lena and Amélie live in Kings Row and have … _history_ … with the area."

"This is true," Winston said. "I'll contact them immediately and let them know the situation."

"About the morgue in Berlin," Jack said, "we can call Reinhardt and Torbjörn."

"I'm kinda checking out some of the security at the city morgue in Berlin and it looks like a lot," D. Va said with a frown. No one asked how she was able to see around their security. They knew better than to ask.

"Ana and I can go for backup," Jack said. "And we can have Mercy and Pharah tag along to help out too."

"Alright, that covers Berlin," Winston said checking some data. "You think Tracer and Widowmaker can handle it just the two of them in Kings Row?"

"They should," Jack said. "I know Tracer can handle covert operations and Widowmaker was made for those."

"Jesse could go and assist," D. Va suggested. "Unless he's out and about."

"He's handling something for me," Winston said. "The lovebirds can handle it."

D. Va sat for a moment with a surprised face before bursting out in a fit of giggles that had Winston smiling.

"Oooh," Hana crooned, "don't let Lena hear you say that. She'll get you good."

Jack chuckled at that. "She and Amélie aren't the only ones," he muttered but Winston and D. Va heard.

"What?" Hana said excited. "Seriously, that sounds like something juicy."

Jack shook his head "Oh, no," he said teasing, "I not saying anything."

"Oh, come on, Old Man," Hana said with a pout. "You can't hint at a bomb like that without setting off the fireworks."

"Who are you calling 'Old Man', you young punk?" Jack said giving Hana a mock scowl that quickly spread into a wide grin.

"Come on, Jack, spill," Hana practically whined.

Jack was about to say something when Winston cleared his throat. Jack looked back to find Ana with her hands on her hips and a fierce look on her face.

"Jack Morrison," she said sternly and everyone cowed under her Mother Tone, "My daughter's love life is not gossip material."

"OK, you are all digging the hole deeper now," Hana said looking like she was about to explode with curiosity.

Angela and Fareeha had come in through the doors a little behind Ana and halted when they heard what Ana said. Jack looked a little embarrassed and even muttered a curse under his breath. Ana rolled her eyes and Angela blushed.

"Who?" D. Va said waving her hands and jumping up and down. "Fareeha, who is your mystery boy?"

Fareeha stepped up and cleared her throat. "Not a _boy_ , first of all," she said while wrapping an arm around Angela who giggled nervously under the attention. "And not really a mystery," she finished.

D. Va sat in shocked silence, even blinking twice, before she finally exploded in a giggle fit.

"O M G," she said once she could breathe, "Seriously, I'm coming to Gibraltar. I've been missing out on way too much."

"If things get serious with Talon, we could probably use you here anyway," Winston said. "Not much going on near Korea."

"Yeah," Hana agreed. "I'll pack my stuff and be there soon then. When I do get there, we have lots to catch up on."

2

 _Lena and Amélie's flat, London_

The smell of eggs and bacon woke Lena up from her warm cocoon of blankets. Even though the temperature in the flat was normal, Lena had opted to keep at least two blankets on the bed for Amélie and her unnatural coldness. Lena didn't mind cuddling her beautiful French girlfriend even if Amélie said she didn't feel the cold. As the fog of sleep drifted away with the smells coming from the kitchen, Lena realized she had no cold girlfriend to warm up. The bed was empty. This made Lena frown a bit until her slowly awakening mind understood the whereabouts of said girlfriend.

Pushing back the covers, Lena stretched her arms and legs and checked the chronal dislocation stabilizers in the corner. It hummed along quietly and pulsed with a soft blue glow. She padded to the kitchen and paused at the wonderful sight before her. Amélie stood with her back at Lena cooking something that sounded like bacon. She had her hair down and was wearing one of Lena's RAF shirts that was just long enough to show the edge of her skimpy panties and the curves of her adorable rear. Lena smiled and licked her lips unconsciously.

"Are you drooling over my cooking or my butt?" Amélie asked looking at the Brit with warm gold eyes over her shoulder.

Lena sauntered over to her girlfriend and gave her a small hug before kissing the nape of her neck. Amélie smiled and leaned into Lena.

"Good old fashioned eggs and bacon," Lena said with a hum. "Still better with a beautiful woman in the kitchen."

Amélie chuckled. "I didn't know if you wanted muffins or just toast."

"I'll make the muffins," Lena answered turning to the toaster and cabinet. "And I'll make coffee if you haven't already."

" _Non_ ," Amélie said. "Truthfully I just woke up. I thought I would wake you with breakfast this time."

"You are so good to me," Lena said with a happy sigh. "I got you strawberry jam."

Amélie looked at her with a raised eyebrow and wide eyes. " _Ah bon?_ When did you do this?"

"I was sneaky and got it before I came home last night," Lena said proudly. "It was rather an accomplishment considering almost nothing gets past you."

"Color me pleasantly surprised then, _chérie_ ," Amélie said with a smile. She paused and thought of something which made Lena watch her for a moment as she loaded the toaster with English muffins. _The man she knew as Gérard was biting into a pastry and Amélie remembered waiting with anticipation as his eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his lips as he chewed thoughtfully._

 _"Do you like them, ma amour?"she had asked._

 _"I knew you would do well, Amélie but these are better than I expected, mon chérie!" he had said._

 _She smiled at that, proud of her accomplishment as he leaned in and kissed her cheek._

 _He had said something endearing to her but her memories were still fuzzy and she couldn't remember his exact words. It was definitely something about being surprised._

"What's up?" Lena asked her as she scooped out coffee for the coffee maker.

"Did you teach me that phrase?"

"What? 'color me surprised'?"

" _Oui_."

Lena thought about it. "Not that I know of," she said. "You've picked up a lot of English idioms though. I tend to throw out a lot of slang. Surprised you can even follow half of what I'm bloody saying most of the time."

Amélie chuckled and scooped the now ready bacon to join the rest on a plate next to some fried eggs. "You aren't that bad," she said. "It's just that phrase triggered something. How did you know I liked strawberries?"

"Oh, now that is something I picked up a long time ago," Lena said with a dreamy smile. "A few years back, Gérard had brought some pastries to the break room. I had just gotten out of a flight exercise and saw them. He offered one to me and I loved it. He asked me if I liked them and I said yeah. Then, I asked him where he'd gotten them and he said 'Amélie made them. She's been trying out baking with pastries and, since she loves strawberries, she thought she'd start with those'."

Amélie turned to her with wide eyes and considered her words. She chewed her lip and looked deep in thought as the toaster popped up the muffins.

"Do you remember making pastries?" Lena asked. Angela had said to everyone that it was important to try and get Amélie to remember anything in her past if there was a trigger to help her get past any amnesia from her conditioning but not to push her to remember too much too fast or it would lead to confusion and possible long-term delusions.

" _Non_ ," Amélie said. "But I always wondered about the strawberries. Once, out on a mission, I came across some and felt the need to eat one. It was wonderful and, before I knew it, I was eating one after the other before Reaper caught me and asked what I was doing."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him it was nothing and secretly stole the rest of the strawberries I found," Amélie said with a mischievous grin. "He never found out. I don't know why, but I ended up sharing them with Sombra. She was surprised I think that I was sharing something with her but she didn't object."

"You know, I don't know much about Sombra," Lena said as she spread strawberry jam on the muffins while more toasted. "I know Reaper is a total creep but what about her?"

Amélie thought about it as she sat the plates at the small dining table. "Sombra is kind of hard to read," she finally said. "She's not really a Talon operative. More like, she did some things that caught Talon's attention and they more or less employed her."

"So she's just in it for the money?" Lena asked as she poured coffee and sat them with the girls' breakfast.

"That's the impression I got," Amélie said as she and Lena started eating. "She has her own agenda. She was always friendly, almost to the point of goofing around."

"Hmm," Lena said as she took a sip of her coffee. "Doesn't sound like your typical Talon agent."

Amélie paused and thought some more. " _Non,_ " she said chewing on some bacon. "She really wasn't. I wonder if she's just with Talon because they give her money and toys to play with."

"You mean she's not really terrorist material, huh?"

"Like I said, she has her own agenda," Amélie shrugged. "She tries to bring down corporations and things like that. Always trying to see if she can get something to extort someone with. Sombra likes to control things … and people."

"Sounds like Talon wanted her on their side so she wouldn't turn on them."

"That would be my guess."

The girls ate in silence for a while and Lena ran her toes up Amélie's leg. The French woman smiled and drank her coffee.

"How is it you can make eggs so well?" Lena asked with a gleam in her eye.

"I just know how to please you, _chérie_ ," Amélie replied, batting her eyelashes.

Lena actually blushed as Amélie flirted with her. She was still learning to express emotions. It was a slow process, but she was getting much better.

The smartphone rang in the other room and Lena and Amélie both paused as the Flight of the Valkyries ringtone played. It was something Lena had specially assigned.

"That's Overwatch," Lena announced as she sprinted into the bedroom to grab the phone. She searched around as the ringtone continued to play, tossing clothing items about from the pile on the floor.

"You know, if you would keep your part of the room tidy, you wouldn't have to search for the phone," Amélie said from the table.

"Yeah, yeah," Lena huffed as she retrieved the smartphone from a forgotten pants pocket. "Oxton here," she said as she answered.

"You know, if you would keep your room tidy, you wouldn't have to search for the phone," Winston said.

"Blimey! Yes I'm a bloomin' slob, I get it," Lena said shaking her head. "One sec, let me get you on speaker."

Amélie smiled a bit as Lena gave her a _don't start_ look and sat the smartphone on the table before pushing an onscreen button.

"Ok, Big Guy," Lena announced, "present and accounted for."

"I've got a mission for you two," Winston said. "Seems the Prime Minister will be making a speech tonight in Kings Row at the Mondatta Memorial."

"What is she speaking about?" Lena asked.

"She's making a rally to strengthen the English people and others to stand up against the tyranny of terrorist groups who would seek to tear down omnic and human relations," Winston answered.

"So, we are on assassin watch, _oui?_ " Amélie asked.

"Yes," Winston confirmed. "Not sure if she's daring Talon to make a move or if she's really just trying to strengthen morale."

"Especially after Mondatta was assassinated in the same spot," Amélie grumbled.

Lena reached across the table and took the French woman's hand reassuringly. Her expression was comforting and Amélie relaxed before grasping Lena's hand in return.

"With that in mind," Winston said calmly to make sure Amélie knew he wasn't being accusatory, "you will have good ideas where the assassin might strike if she uses your own tactics which is highly likely since she is no doubt trained as you were. Only difference is, there will be more guards on duty."

"There was a lot of security I had to go through," Amélie replied. "I knocked out several guards to secure the area before taking position at Mondatta. If Tracer hadn't sensed me and confronted me, he would probably have never reached the podium."

It was her turn to look at Lena with an apologetic look. Lena only looked at her with forgiveness and love. It made Amélie sigh in relief.

"Being the Prime Minister, she might have even more," Winston said. "Keep in mind it has been several months since Mondatta but that will already have security and local authorities on alert."

"We'll have to be extra sneaky then," Lena agreed.

"Talon may not even take the bait," Amélie said. "If they know this could be a trap, they may just let the Prime Minister have her fun and try to kill her later without all the risk."

"True," Lena said. "They could also see this as a way to test out their new assassin to make sure she's up to snuff with the Widowmaker," she waggled her eyebrows at Amélie before adding, "this could be a real dog's dinner or Talon could be all mouth and no trousers."

"Could be … what?" Winston said and Amélie only looked at her with amused confusion.

"Cor blimey," Lena said rolling her eyes. "You two really have to catch up on the English slang. I mean this could be a big deal or nothing at all."

"Oh," Winston said and Lena could actually hear him adjust his glasses. "Yes, and very true. If they don't take the bait then, well, you and Amélie can have special seats to hear the speech at least."

"We'll keep in touch and let you know," Lena said. "We'll contact you at nineteen hundred hours then."

The call disconnected and Lena sat with Amélie, silent and still holding hands.

"You ready for this?" Lena asked her quietly.

Amélie locked eyes with Lena. The strength she gave her was felt in that look and the confidence she extended through her touch as her fingers interlaced with her own.

" _Oui,_ " Amélie said. Her lips curled into a smile that was mirrored by Lena. Amélie pulled Lena's hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles gently. " _Nous serons prêts._ (we will be ready)."

3

 _Las Cruces, New Mexico_

Jesse McCree was used to the dusty old taverns in New Mexico. Things hadn't changed much when it came to them. The only thing that modernized the saloons anymore were the digital jukeboxes playing music, digital displays and holovids over the bar, and the occasional omnic barkeep or bouncer (in case things got rough). He certainly looked the part with his beat up cowboy hat, poncho, and boots. He grinned as he thought the scene was ruined some as he had no spurs to jangle as he bellied up to the bar.

"What can I get you?" the omnic behind the bar asked. Even with his shiny chassis, the omnic looked as old as the bar itself. Kinda reminded Jesse of Zenyatta. He – and Jesse could tell the omnic was a "he" with the deeper voice and bulkier frame – nodded and leaned on the bar edge in a move that was so human, it took Jesse a moment to admire it. Omnics had come a long way in adapting with humans.

"I'll take a few glasses of that," Jesse said pointing to a bottle of bourbon in the display case. He took out a roll of credits and peeled off a couple to hand to the barkeep. "I'm meeting with someone so I guess start me up a tab."

The omnic nodded and got the bottle of bourbon before pouring a glass for Jesse and going to help other customers. Jesse took a swallow of the drink while watching the holovid. _Same old same old,_ he thought. Omnic and human pressure and debate from all political and moral parties involved. Seems anyone with a voice loud enough had an opinion on what was what. The news reported that the Prime Minister was speaking at the Mondatta Memorial in London and that made Jesse think of Lena … and her new rogue assassin girlfriend.

Jesse thought about Amélie a lot. The woman had been the furthest thing from an agent or even a soldier when he first knew her. Gérard didn't have her around the Overwatch crew much. He tried to keep her out of Overwatch affairs as much as he could. Thinking about the woman now with her genetic enhancements and deadly skills, maybe Gérard should have had her around more. She could have still been kidnapped and tortured, but maybe, if she had some know-how and a little bit of training – nothing extensive, just enough to keep her from breaking easily to torture or combat situations – she might not have ended up as Widowmaker. Jesse grunted as the alcohol made a good burn to his throat. Maybe it would have still happened anyway. Amélie wasn't exactly a badass from the get-go, she was just reprogrammed to not feel fear, compassion, or empathy. Jesse hoped that would change. She seemed to be adjusting to the new employer and Lena. He'd be lying if he didn't admit everyone was watching to make sure she didn't break. Angela had warned them all about the delicate psychological circumstances the French beauty was going through. Who knew a goofball like Lena Oxton could be the key to helping a woman with a fractured mind get back on track?

Jesse laughed to himself at the thought. Lena may be a goofball, but she was a strong, determined, and capable goofball.

"You are such a walking cliche, _amigo_ ," Jesse heard a voice say as a woman sat next to him at the bar.

Jesse casually eyed the young woman. She was Mexican and young with one of those new style cyberpunk haircuts. It was long and brushed over the side with bright purple, almost neon, ends while the other side was shaved short and had patterns and circuit strips decorating her scalp. Her eyes were large and luminous and enhanced to be purple like her hair instead of the brown color they probably originally were. She had a girlish face that was rounded, high cheekbones, and a wide mouth with full lips that curved into a perpetual smirk. Outside of the patterns in her haircut, the woman had no visible tattoos or excessive piercings outside of a beauty mark dotting high up her cheek near the corner of her left eye.

Jesse smiled and shook his head with a snort as he took in her shiny vinyl top and leggings. _Kids these days and their cyberpunk stuff_ , he thought.

"I dunno about that, darlin', but I think I fit in a bit better than you," he drawled.

The Mexican girl huffed a short laugh. "I fit in just fine," she retorted. She waved the barkeep over and ordered Tequila.

Jesse frowned a bit at the young girl. She was cute but she wasn't his type really. _I'd better let her down easy,_ he thought.

"Listen, sweetheart, you're a beauty believe me, but I'm waiting for someone," he said taking a drink from his bourbon.

The girl laughed a genuine laugh and shook her head.

"Wow, look at the big ego on you, McCree," she said with a grin. "I dunno if I should be flattered or insulted."

Jesse actually choked on his drink and coughed a couple of times as the woman simply smiled and crossed her legs, leaning on the bar with her elbow as if she were just waiting with amusement for him to start breathing regularly again.

"You?" Jesse began, cleared his throat when it sounded like he still had some drink clogging it, and tried again. "You're my contact?"

" _Si,_ " the girl said as the omnic gave her the shot of tequila she ordered. She gulped it down and then ordered a beer with a Spanish name.

"She's the one I'm meeting with," Jesse explained as the omnic paused waiting for a payment.

"Oh," the barkeeper said. "Right away then."

Jesse took the time to really look at his guest. "So, you have intel that would be beneficial to my employer?" He asked, keeping things vague.

"Oh yeah," she said with a smirk. "When it comes to intel, I can get anything."

"So, you're a super cool hacker?"

" _Amigo,_ I'm _the_ super cool hacker," she grinned and quirked her eyebrow.

"Now who's got a big ego?" Jesse joked. "Pretty sure of yourself, aren't ya, darlin'? You know who I am I'm guessing, so who are you? Lemme guess, 'Ultraviolet'? 'Purple Passion'?"

The woman laughed before leaning in close with a devious grin. "You can call me Sombra," she whispered.

Jesse's amused grin faded into deadly serious. He stiffened and met the girl's eyes. Her expression of pleasure and delight never wavered as she leaned back and took a drink of her beer. Jesse calculated how long it might take him to reach his gun hidden under his poncho. He had noticed the other patrons and made a note of who might be a Talon agent in disguise ready to give Sombra backup. She didn't seem to be armed but Jesse knew that was always a deception when it came to Talon agents. He was thinking about possible exits and how far the back door from the kitchen behind the bar area might be when Sombra giggled.

"You may look like a Clint Eastwood fan, but you actually have a pretty tactical mind, don't you, _amigo?_ " Sombra said. She hadn't changed her posture to anything aggressive or defensive.

"Who is Clint Eastwood?" Jesse asked. The comment threw him off his game for a moment which is what he thought Sombra had in mind.

" _Dios mío,_ " she said rolling her eyes. "You dress like _that_ but you don't know who Clint Eastwood is?"

Jesse just stared at her blankly and Sombra sighed.

"Clint Eastwood was Scott Eastwood's dad!" she explained. "He was a huge movie star who did classic western movies in the 1960s and the 1970s."

Jesse just blinked as Sombra took another drink of her beer before leaning in closer to speak softer.

"OK, to answer the questions no doubt spinning through that head of yours," Sombra said quietly holding up her fingers and counting off her answers, "One: no, Talon doesn't know I'm here. Two: no, I'm not monitored. And that brings us to three: no I don't have any troopers stationed near me. I promise you though, if you try to attack me or reach for your gun under that lovely authentic poncho you're wearing, we will have a problem and I promise you... I will ruin your day."

"If Talon doesn't know you're here then what are you up to?" Jesse said with a dangerous growl.

"Let me make something very clear to you, _hombre,_ " Sombra said without any visible regard to Jesse's dangerous glint or tone, "the only reason why I'm with Talon is because I have mad skills and they pay me the big bucks. I make no mistake in thinking that just because they give me the big bucks means that I am their 'agent' or that they consider me 'important'. They pay me the big bucks because it is more like an offer I can't refuse."

"Like _the Godfather_ , gotcha," Jesse nodded.

Sombra blinked this time. "You know _the Godfather_ but you didn't know who Clint Eastwood was?"

Jesse leaned back and chuckled. "I'm amazingly resourceful in random stuff, darlin'."

Sombra chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Great," she breathed. "At least I know you are sharp enough to keep up without me having to explain things too much."

"So," Jesse said crossing his arms. "What made you take this leap of faith and reveal yourself to Overwatch."

Sombra took a moment and drank some of her beer. Jesse thought the posture and gesture was because she was gearing up to tell him something big and she needed the liquid courage.

"Where were you during the Omnic Crisis?" she asked quietly.

Jesse followed her eyes as they both seemed to be watching the barkeeper putter away behind the bar as he wiped off counters and got drink orders. They blended in better than they did before, but omnics were still able to stick out.

"Overwatch," Jesse said. "I was part of the special forces. We were called in to take care of the omnics that were infected with the God program."

"I was a child in Mexico," Sombra said looking at the bar. "They destroyed everything, left me all alone. Killed my _familia._ I was left to grow up in what was left."

"Damn," Jesse sighed shaking his head. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Sombra smiled and looked his way. "Well, I grew up fending for myself, made a name for myself … sorta … and it taught me some very valuable lessons on survival. Anyway, I learned knowledge was power and that, with enough knowledge, you could control things and people."

"And because you were so good a sniffing out intel, you crossed Talon?"

"They were … intrigued," she said with a raised eyebrow. "Then later, Reaper came and asked … well, ok, he didn't really _ask_ me to join them..."

"He gave you an offer you couldn't refuse," Jesse nodded.

"Right," Sombra nodded back. "They pay really well and I normally give them hell about my prices. You know, see how far I can push them before they get pissed off? Anyway, although they have things for me to do and pay my bills, like I said, they also have a lot of influence and a lot of contacts in stuff all over the world. I don't like omnics. I tolerate them as much as I have to but after what happened to my home, my _familia,_ I do not have any love for omnics."

"Talon sure don't seem to like them much either," Jesse agreed. "I know I'm not going to change your mind much or anything – hell, I can only imagine trying to grow up on the streets in Mexico alone – but I gotta tell you darlin', hate just breeds more hate. Talon isn't making the world a better place by trying to stomp the 'evil robot armies' and 'protect the innocent humans'. They are exploiting the tension between the two and lying to the human race to gain trust and power over them."

"I am starting to understand that," Sombra said and she took a long swig of her beer. "Also, something else made me question Talon and start making some moves to keep them in check."

"Like what?"

Sombra looked at Jesse with a very serious expression. Her eyes turned pleading and sad and her voice even trembled a bit.

"Please tell me she's ok, McCree _,_ " Sombra said. "You and I both know Tracer would never kill her."

Jesse looked Sombra in the eye and debated what all to tell her. Talon could be looking for her. Jesse also knew that if they ever found her, they'd just kill her than try to reprogram her. She had slipped too far from their grasp to be useful to them anymore. The more he looked at Sombra, however, the more he saw the sincerity in her eyes and expression. Amélie wasn't just a fellow agent, she was this woman's friend.

"I wasn't aware Widowmaker was actually friends with anyone in Talon," Jesse simply replied.

"She had her moments," Sombra said. Her expression hadn't changed. "I thought she was just a cold blooded killer like Reaper until she started doing little things and it made me curious about her. She was far from what I thought. I started testing the waters, so to speak, and she warmed up to me. More or less."

Jesse listened and made his decision with a sigh. "She's fine," Jesse said. "I'm not going to tell you much more than that because, well, we aren't best buds or anything. Don't worry your pretty purple head. She's in good hands."

Sombra nodded in understanding. Jesse could see the relief in her face was genuine.

"She's part of the big turnaround," Sombra said with a small laugh. "I found out, omnics were infected with a God program and used against their will. They didn't know they were reprogrammed to go against humans. Then, what does Talon do to help fight against and undermine omnic/human relations? They take an innocent French woman, wife of one of the top agents of their most hated enemy, and reprogram her into a killer. I'm sure I don't have to tell you the absolute hypocrisy of that."

Jesse drank his own drink as he let those words stew in his mind. "She didn't deserve that," Jesse said with a hard voice. "I only knew her a little when Gérard was alive. She was sweet and shy, blushed when any attention was given to her. Baked cookies and danced ballet – typical, normal French woman everyday things – and that was just fine. Then, those cowards took that beautiful sweet woman and turned her into … well, hell, I've talked with Widowmaker and I'll even go so far as to tell you we've worked together. You're right, she wasn't a cold killer. Amélie Lacroix was always there, trapped behind those predatory gold eyes. Lena was the only one to see the plea for help behind them."

"No _amigo,_ she wasn't the only one," Sombra said softly. "When I found out how Widowmaker became our top assassin, I was curious about what would make someone turn so cruel and heartless. She talked a tough game, but you could hear it in her voice. It was like someone reading a teleprompter, playing a part they really didn't want to play but didn't know what else to do."

Jesse nodded. "Sounds about right," he said as he took another drink of his bourbon.

"I wasn't the only one to notice the differences," Sombra went on. "They started increasing her 'treatments' more. It was like they were pushing her harder to make the leash on her throat tighter. You could tell she was breaking and I tried to keep her from shutting down completely. Only I wasn't the only one. She saw a way out and I am happy to say I gave her a push."

"You mean Tracer?" Jesse asked raising his eyebrows.

" _Si,_ " Sombra said. "I worked with it. Gave her little hints and taunts of my own about her ' _un petite_ '," Sombra giggled at the French pet name and Jesse could almost hear Amélie say it, "I wasn't actually there during most of the missions – they had me monitoring from far off – but I saw and heard how Tracer looked and talked to her. It used to piss Widowmaker off being goaded and taunted. She never realized that the crazy Brit was actually getting her to wake up. Talon wasn't expecting their little lab rat to fall in love."

"Heh, you can say that again," Jesse snorted and then stiffened as he realized he let it slip.

Sombra merely smiled and leaned on her elbow. "So they _are_ lovers..."

"You are a sneaky little thing, aren't you?"

"I promise, I won't use that info," Sombra smiled. "Like I said, she's the reason why I even placed the bread crumbs for Overwatch to find me."

Jesse was about to press business when Sombra waved her fingers and a data disk appeared in her hand with small motes of purple light. "This is perfectly clean with a little info on how to contact me with safe channels that Talon neither knows of nor can find. It is also all the data about the new black ops project they've been working on and where they have been doing experiments."

Jesse frowned and hesitated for a moment before taking the disk and stashing it away in his many pouches. "So what _are_ they up to?"

"When Widowmaker was 'killed in action'," Sombra replied, "they decided that all the treatments to suppress her emotions were expensive and unnecessary. It was a waste of valuable resources to keep and maintain an agent that took so much to control. The solution was to make and train assassins they didn't have to maintain suppression with. Loyal, dependable, heartless monsters that would do whatever they were told without fail or even the possibility of insubordination."

Jesse turned cold as Sombra's voice lowered to nothing more than a hushed whisper. This was very bad if the infamous espionage agent and hacker was keeping things quiet.

"I let Talon think they own me," Sombra whispered as her eyes turned dark and serious. No humor or playfulness in her face as her smile turned malicious. "They think they control me just because they can pay my asking price. _They do not_. I am my own person and have been for a long time. There may come a time when I get tired of playing nice with Talon and if they keep pulling this kind of _mierda,_ they may find me gone without a trace with all their dirty little secrets."

Jesse swallowed. "Jesus, girl," he said equally hushed. "Just what the hell have they done?"

"I don't think you would believe me even if I told you."

"Listen," Jesse said with determination. "If you ever need a place to hide, a place to go, you come to Overwatch, you hear? I think we've made it pretty clear that if you can prove your trust, you have a place with us."

Sombra smiled wide and, just like that, her playfulness came back. Her mask put firmly back into place.

"When I leave Talon, they will never find me," she said with a wave of her hand. "Rest assured though, your offer is sweet and if I can be of service, you let me know. That data isn't just their plans but a way for Athena to find me."

Jesse huffed a laugh. "Of course you know about Athena," he said shaking his head.

"I have one question, and this is deadly serious," Sombra said as she let her mask slide back down again. "Is Athena a God program? Is Overwatch secretly harboring one of those … things?"

"Hell no," Jesse said with equal conviction. "Athena is an AI created by Winston and what was left of the NASA space program on the moon when he was still a chimp in a diaper. God programs are what caused the Omnic Crisis in the first place and I can promise you, Overwatch would never and _will never_ harbor or aid something like that. Ever."

Sombra locked eyes with McCree for a few moments. Jesse knew she was seeing if he was even hinting at lying to her. He didn't have to hide anything knowing he told her the full truth. She saw it too and the mask slipped back into it's comfortable place with a genuine smile and sparkle in her eye.

"Got a little question for you," Jesse said with an equal grin. "Who trains the Talon soldiers?"

"The shock troopers?"

"The clowns in black riot armor with the red vision goggles and the guns they can't shoot for shit most of the time."

"Oh, those guys," Sombra said frowning a bit. "The elite forces are all under Reaper's command. I am not a soldier or specially trained. I only go in if there's need for back up or I need to use hands-on and not remote access to data mines and computer mainframes. I learned to fight with my new _familia_ on the streets when I was a kid."

"Any ideas on who Reaper is?" Jesse pressed.

"No," Sombra frowned deeper. "That dude just shows up like some creepy Batman growling and spitting out orders. He doesn't like to be played with and he doesn't like to be questioned."

Jesse sighed. Sombra didn't know anything more than Widowmaker did it seemed. "Damn," he muttered. "Widow didn't know anything about training either. She was programmed."

"Yeah," Sombra said. "She and I are special because we didn't choose Talon. Talon chose us. Makes sense they wouldn't let us see all their cards, _si?_ "

"I guess not," Jesse said and finished his drink. "I was just kinda hoping you dug up something about the guy after working with him for so long."

"I can see what I can find," Sombra said. "There are no personal files on him at all. I know, I looked."

"That is weird," Jesse said scratching his beard. "Ah well, at least we have this for now. Thank you."

"Hey, no problem, _mi amigo,_ " Sombra finished her beer. "We may not be BFFs, but I think we can work together, eh? Athena will be able to find me through secure channels I have laid out for her on that disk. I may come calling if I need something too. We'll keep in touch, Jesse. You make sure Overwatch takes care of this … thing … and I'll help you guys out when I can."

She leaned in and touched the tip of Jesse's nose saying "boop" before she waved goodbye and literally disappeared with purple patterns of light. Jesse looked around, startled, but the woman was completely gone. He quickly left out a few credits and exited the tavern as fast as he could.

No one seemed to notice he left.

4

 _Kings Row, London 19:00_

The wind blew across the rooftops comfortably as she perched high above the growing crowd below. From her vantage point, the armed officers moved with excellent proficiency. She could hear the buzz of their check-ins and check-outs as they patrolled the grounds and surrounding rooftops. This crowd was bigger than the few that had come out that night to see Mondatta. Seems Talon's stunt only served to unify the people more. _Or maybe_ , she thought, _that was the plan_. A crowd like this could make more casualties than the rally that turned riot in Germany.

Security was indeed tight but she knew that was a moot point to Talon. If her replacement was going to show up tonight, she wouldn't be bothered by a few more guards. She would take them out before they even had a chance to fire a round at her. _Just like I did_ , she thought and sighed.

"Widowmaker, you copy?" the soothing voice of Tracer in full Overwatch business mode made Amélie smile a little. They had agreed not to chatter too much with Winston and Athena monitoring the situation.

" _Oui_ , I am too high up for them to see me in my position," she replied. "Everything is clear up here. The officers are actually doing a good job of covering the grounds but they don't know what they are really looking for."

"People are excited here on the ground," Tracer said. "No troublemakers at least. Lots of supporters and the officers down here are pretty jumpy. You're right, they don't know what they are looking for."

"Talon had dropped me off in a cloaked transport, a C215 Claw," Amélie explained. "It is mostly silent and the only way you can tell if one is around is by the low heat signatures from the anti-gravity generators."

"I'm guessing you have your peepers in place?"

Amélie did smile at that. " _Oui,_ " she replied. "All eight of them and so far, the only heat sensory I've seen is from these nervous patrol officers."

Tracer looked at her watch and saw the speech was scheduled to start in a few minutes. "It's almost show time," she said. "Maybe they're waiting for opportunity to slip in while she's speaking and the crowd is cheering to cover any noise."

"Sounds reasonable," Amélie agreed. "If they show at all."

"Yeah," Tracer agreed.

She was about to say something when the crowd started cheering. The Prime Minister made her way to the podium flanked by two large men in suits and what looked like a newer model of Bastion unit behind her. She smiled and waved to the crowd before adjusting the microphone a bit.

"Good evening," she began as the cheering lowered to a few hoots and whistles. "I am so glad you were all able to come out to this event tonight. I am pleased to see British human and omnic standing together as we face troubling times. No doubt Mondatta would be very pleased."

"We are all one in the Iris!" a few people shouted and the Prime Minister smiled and gave a small salute to show her agreement.

Tracer was shaken a bit at those words and she glanced up to the rooftops where she knew a familiar woman was once again watching from high above. It made her swallow in dread but she reminded herself that the assassin was on their side this time and hoped, with Amélie's help, tonight would not be a repeat of that horrible night.

Amélie was hearing the words as well and her thoughts were also on Tracer. She remembered everything and it made her slow heart ache. _That is the past,_ she told herself, _this is now_. She needed to focus.

As she was chiding herself, she saw a movement from the side. With her visor, the heat signature of one of the guards was walking around the edge of one rooftop when a shadow, almost completely invisible to Widowmaker's sight, struck the man with swift brutal efficiency.

"Tracer, target sighted," Widowmaker said taking aim and trying to track the nearly invisible assassin. "She's barely being picked up on my tactical visor."

"Blimey," Tracer cursed. "That means she's as cold if not colder than you."

She started making her way closer to the stage without causing too much attention her herself and even made an effort to cover her faintly glowing Chronal Accelerator with her RAF jacket.

"Does she show up in other spectrum?" Tracer suggested.

"Only night vision," Widowmaker answered and Tracer heard her firing her rifle on the intercom. " _Merde,_ she's fast."

"Stay on her," Tracer was saying as Widowmaker was running and shooting and her enemy was doing the same. She hissed as a shot came from her left and peppered the wall. The security was now alerted thanks to the fire fight. She shot her grappling hook and swung towards where her twin was leaping over rooftops with almost as much speed and grace as herself.

Bullets whizzed by as she flew through the air. She caught herself almost turning and returning fire. _No_ , she scolded herself, _no innocents_. The Talon assassin didn't have the same ethics as she slammed her rifle butt across the jaw of a startled guard and flipped in a cartwheel to take down the other who had just lifted his gun towards her.

Widowmaker fired what would have been a shoulder hit, but the assassin ducked at the last moment and glared back at Amélie with a stone expression. Widowmaker actually gasped. There was no life in those eyes that looked back at her, only a faint red glow.

"Tracer," Widowmaker said as the assassin leapt off the roof and used her own grappling hook to swing towards the stage where the Prime Minister was speaking loudly and encouragingly to the unsuspecting crowd below. "The assassin is headed down and she's … _chérie,_ that girl is not alive."

"What do you mean 'not alive'?" Tracer had time to ask as one of the security on the stage cried out and his head half exploded in a spray of gore.

The crowd screamed as the other security guard went towards the Prime Minister. His steps were halted by a woman in black landing with a kick to his head. She landed with an uncanny grace and Tracer was on the move, guns drawn.

The Bastion unit was already intercepting the assassin when she tossed something that attached itself with a loud clang and blinked with rapid red lights. Tracer's eyes widened with shock as she realized it was a magnetic bomb.

She zipped through time and space, everything around her moving in slow motion as she leapt up, snatched the lapels of the Prime Minister's coat, and hauled the woman away from the slowly billowing blast. She had just reached a point off the edge of the platform when time came back to it's regular speed.

The boom was deafening, shards of wood from the platform and podium showered Tracer as she covered the Prime Minister as best as she could with her body. The woman was screaming and her face was a mask of fear. When the heat left as quickly as it came, Tracer looked at the Prime Minister and checked for any injuries.

"Are you alright?" Tracer asked and the Prime Minister was about to answer when she screamed and looked over Tracer's shoulder. Tracer looked to see the Talon assassin right behind her with a rifle pointed point blank at her head. Amélie was right, she realized, as she saw the look on the assassin's face was blank and void of any life or emotion. Her eyes glowed an evil red like she were a demon or something equally unnatural.

Before Tracer could react more than the widening of her own eyes, a shot was heard and the assassin's head snapped hard to the right. Widowmaker swung down from her grapple as the assassin fell to the ground in a dead sprawl.

"Are you two alright?" Widowmaker asked, reeling in her grapple and kneeling close.

"I was just about to ask that," Tracer said turning to the Prime Minister.

A high pitched whine cut through the tension of the chaos. Tracer looked around confused when, suddenly, Widowmaker grabbed the Prime Minister and shot her grapple up towards a nearby roof.

"Cortex bomb!" she shouted to Tracer as she rapidly moved to get the Prime Minister to safety.

Tracer reacted as quickly as she could. She knew Widowmaker wasn't going to be able to clear the blast area with her grapple especially with the added weight of the Prime Minister in her arm. The British agent jumped up and grabbed both women in a bear hug as she activated her accelerator.

Once again, time slowed to a crawl around her as she flew, moving through a fourth dimension beyond distance and normal travel speed. With a flash of blue light, she landed the three of them on the rooftop with a rough but safe landing.

The blast below caused anyone who hadn't been frightened off by the first explosion to flee with renewed effort. There were more police and security to keep the crowd moving to safety than there had been in Germany and the crowd seemed to be able to disperse quickly and safely. Any injured were attended to as fast as passerby and authorities could reach them and Tracer and Widowmaker heard the scream of sirens from ambulances and fire brigades over the shrieks of fear from the now scattered crowd.

Tracer looked around and assessed the situation. Widowmaker was already looking over the Prime Minister who was getting to her feet. Tracer looked at herself and quickly checked for any injuries. Everything looked fine and her accelerator was recharging.

"Are you alright?" Widowmaker asked the Prime Minister. "I think we are in a safe spot for now."

"Y-Yes," the Prime Minister said with a shaky voice. She was trembling on her feet but otherwise unharmed. "Thank you," she said and looked at Widowmaker with a confused look. She certainly didn't look like a normal citizen with blue skin, black catsuit, and rifle strapped to her back. The Prime Minister turned her eyes to Tracer who was dusting off her pants and nearing them.

"Blimey," the Prime Minister breathed. "You're … _Tracer?_ "

Tracer gave a real salute. "Yes, Ma'am," she said. "I am well aware that the PETRAs Act forbids any and all Overwatch activity and all that rot but, frankly speaking, Ma'am, If my best girl and I hadn't been here tonight, you'd be street pizza and probably dozens of others."

The Prime Minister only nodded and straightened up as best as she could. "I think given the circumstances, I am willing to overlook your breach of protocol," she patted out a few slow burning embers on the hemline of her jacket before cursing softly. "I would suggest that you two run along before the Fliers get here. Would be a lot of messy paperwork and I'm sure you two don't want to be taken into custody."

"As long as you are alright," Widowmaker said.

"I'm fine and the security and other authorities will reach me soon," the Prime Minister said with a nod. "Thank you."

Tracer wrapped her arms around Widowmaker who fired her grapple towards a far off ledge. "No worries, Prime Minister. One day, there will be peace. Don't give up," she gave a small salute as Widowmaker propelled them into the night. "Cheers, love!"

Concealed in the darkness and shadows of nearby rooftops high above where search parties combed the area for any more assassins – or the two mysterious women who nabbed the Prime Minister as there were explosions – Widowmaker watched the scene through her scope and visor while Tracer was catching her breath and waiting for her accelerator to fully recharge.

"They have her," Widow said. "She's safe. There must be ten people with assault rifles covering her exit."

The whir of anti-gravity boosters hissed quietly overhead and Tracer and Widow pressed themselves closer into the shadows when searchlights and Fliers droned past towards the memorial. The occasional siren could still be heard and the fire brigade was hosing down the flaming wreckage of the Bastion unit and stage.

"Could have been way worse," Tracer huffed leaning against a brick chimney. "They worked fast. I'm glad we were able to beat them."

"That woman was like me but so … different," Widowmaker said shaking her head. "She moved quickly and efficiently but, Lena, that woman was not alive. I may be cold and practically emotionless but she … she was dead."

"She seemed more machine than person at all, didn't she?"

"Somehow, Talon has made a killing machine," Amélie said sadly. "The perfect, low-maintenance assassin."

Tracer changed the frequency on her headset before reporting in. "Winston, Tracer here, do you copy?"

Winston's voice sounded hurried and strained. "Tracer? I copy, what's the situation there?"

"Present and accounted for," Tracer replied. "Prime directive complete but we couldn't capture the assassin. She had a cortex bomb and blew herself up."

"Damn," Winston said. "More bad news."

"What's up?" Tracer asked concerned.

"Blue Team were successful at the morgue and fought off heavy resistance from Talon but we lost Ana and Jack."

Tracer actually stood up and looked at Widowmaker in horror. Amélie raised an eyebrow in question as she couldn't quite here the conversation.

"They're _dead?_ " Tracer asked. "Blimey and God above preserve us, please tell me they aren't dead!"

"Not dead," Winston said calming down a bit. "Captured. We need to regroup and try to find them before they end up dead."

"Amélie and I will grab some digs and head back to Spain then," Tracer said with determination. "See you soon as possible. We'll get them back, love. Tracer out."

Lena was checking the charge on her accelerator and turned to her girlfriend. "Talon grabbed Ana and Jack," she explained. "We're going back to Spain to regroup with the others."

Amélie nodded. "Will we be able to slip home and out again without the fuzz busting us?"

Lena giggled. "It's so cute hearing you say 'the fuzz'! We just have to be quick and sneaky."

"I can be quick and sneaky," Amélie replied with a small smile.

"OK, let's be in and out quick like," Lena said. "The team is gonna need us."

With that, the two women zipped to their flat in Kings Row.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

1

 _City Morgue, Berlin 19:00_

The skies were clear with a new moon. Only the stars above and the man-made lights around the building provided any relief from the darkness. Several armed officers had been placed on the premises to protect from anyone wishing to steal the newly arrived bodies from the terrible riot. One officer thought he heard something as he smoked his cigarette. He paused, letting out the lungful of smoke he just inhaled slowly as to not cause more noise. It had been a brief click, but you couldn't be too careful.

He was about to use his radio as he stood perfectly still to hear anything else. They were on the outskirts of the city but certain city-borne noise and activities were to be expected. The radio was in his hand when the fist punched him in the face with a sickening crack. Before everything went black, he saw a menacing figure with a black hood and a skull mask glaring down at him.

"Fan out," Reaper growled to the troops behind him as the first guard went down. "I don't want any of you messing this up. We get in and out. Squad three and five, make us an entrance. Squads two and four take out any resistance. Squad one, you are with me."

The troopers only responded with simple nods and burst into action. Reaper followed as the squads split into two. He had just seen them turn corners when the shouts and gunfire started. He thought it was the squads taking out guards before he saw three troops of Squad Three come flying into view and a heavily armored giant come bursting through the ranks.

"Hammer down!" Reinhardt shouted gleefully as his huge weapon spun overhead and came down with an earth-shattering crash. The sheer force was enough to crush a couple of soldiers but the aftershocks of the blow sent the rest tumbling from the mini earthquake. Another bellow of a war cry had Torbjörn firing molten rivets from his gun while a turret fired again and again into the ranks of stunned troopers.

Reaper cursed and took aim at Reinhardt but soon found his shots reflecting off of a glowing blue field. The troops in his squad fired a couple of shots in Torbjörn's direction. These troops were at least smart enough to know they weren't going to get through Reinhardt's shield. Torb ducked to some cover and directed his turret towards that squad.

Several explosions sounded as Squad Five and Squad Four tumbled to take cover as Pharah sent a barrage of missiles into their midst. Reaper growled with hatred as he saw the golden wings of Mercy flying nearby. For a moment, his eyes narrowed and his hate became a single focus towards the doctor. Guns drawn, Reaper started towards her. His single minded mission only stopped when he felt and heard a bullet whiz past his head, taking out a trooper beside him.

Reaper looked up from where the shot had come. _A sniper,_ he thought. Giving Mercy another hateful glare, Reaper decided a sniper was more detrimental to the mission than her. His vengeance could wait, he thought, as he willed his body into the smokey black mist and made his way up to where he knew the sniper was hiding.

The squads were holding their own but Overwatch was gaining ground. Another shot fired from a ledge nearby and Reaper slithered silent and deadly upwards. It wasn't until he had emerged from the shadows that he questioned his eyes. Lying prone on the roof taking shots at his troops below was Ana Amari. There was no way she was here, with the rest of Overwatch, looking as if she hadn't aged for years.

Ana cried out in alarm as Reaper grabbed her and hauled her up. "What the hell is this?" he growled. Ana started to point her weapon at the cloaked agent but Reaper tore the rifle from her grip.

Ana's eyes were only wide in surprise for a moment before she narrowed them and grit her teeth. She didn't answer even as Reaper grabbed her by the throat and held her straight up in the air. She gagged for breath and struggled.

"Looks like Widowmaker really was useless after all," Reaper said. "You're supposed to be dead."

"You wish," Ana spat.

"I should make my wish come true right now but I have to say, I'm quite curious," Reaper chuckled evilly. "You look really good for a corpse. Especially since you're supposed to be … what … sixty now, Amari?"

Ana said nothing as Reaper's grip only tightened. "I know the Egyptians perfected the art of mummification but unless Anubis granted you some life after death power, you shouldn't be here, vigorous and full of youth, killing my soldiers. How are you doing this?"

"Oh come now, Reaper," Ana said with a sly grin. "Don't tell me you want to trade beauty secrets."

Reaper growled as he pulled the young woman closer. "And two eyes," he mused. "You know, I've always thought they were beautiful, Ana, but Widowmaker said she shot you through one of them. Was she lying about that as she lied about killing you? I wonder."

Ana's smug smile faded. She couldn't remember actually going up against Reaper, especially not when she was younger. "Who are you?" she asked in a harsh whisper. The need for answers overshadowed her need to breathe properly. "How would you know what my eyes were like?"

Reaper only chuckled darkly and cocked his head. "Oh, dear Captain, I know all about you," he replied.

He was probably going to say something more when three rapid pulse rounds punched into his back, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the young captain. Reaper spun around to face Soldier 76 who had come up behind him while his focus had been on Ana.

"Get your damn hands off her," Soldier 76 said. Reaper merely laughed and swirled into shadow. "Captain, you alright?" Jack said running up to her. "I thought you didn't need a babysitter?"

"I'm OK and I wouldn't have except he came in out of the shadows," Ana said rubbing her throat. "He knows me, 76," she said with a serious expression calling Jack by his call sign. "He knows who I am and recognized me."

"I'm sure Talon has a database of all of us," Jack said searching in the shadows for where Reaper had run off to. She couldn't tell from his facemask, but he was frowning.

"No," Ana said as she made for her rifle. "I mean, he knows me from before. From when I was this age the first time."

Jack started to ask her for clarification when a fist suddenly appeared from the gathering gloom and knocked him down. Ana turned and fired at the black smoke, but her shot only went harmlessly through. The awful mist solidified and Reaper surfaced with a shotgun drawn. The blast hit her in the shoulder as Ana dodged to keep the shot from hitting her square in the chest. She cried out and skid along the floor with the power of the blast.

"Ana!" Jack yelled and blasted at the smoke. Reaper hadn't counted on pulses to effect his wraith form. The heat burned and forced him into his more physical form. That didn't hinder him, however, as his shotgun blasted towards Soldier 76. Jack rolled away in time to dodge two of the blasts and fired back with a few of his own.

Ana felt the pain lessen before going away entirely. She looked at her shoulder and, much to her surprise, the bleeding had not only ended with the sharp pain she felt only moments ago, but it was completely healed. She grabbed her gun up again as she saw Reaper weave in and out of the darkness. She tried several times to pull the trigger but the Talon agent was too fast and ruined any clear shots she might have had.

Jack was too close for ranged attacks and tried to take Reaper out with hand-to-hand. Punches and kicks were blocked and parried as the two warriors fought with equal power and ferocity. A shot rang out and Reaper ducked and cursed. Jack thought he had the advantage with Reaper distracted for a second but was proven wrong as a knee slammed into his solar plexus.

"You're getting slow, old man," Reaper taunted as he towered over Jack who was struggling to catch his breath. A heavy fist smashed into his face and his vision blurred. Another shot cracked and Reaper cried out. Jack saw him take a hit in the leg this time as Ana couldn't line up her shot properly.

Reaper shifted through the shadows and reappeared beside the woman. Her rifle went off, but the shot went wild as the gun was once again ripped from her grasp. This time a boot kicked her flat in the face, breaking her nose. Dazed, Ana could only whimper as Reaper grabbed her by the collar. He pulled her to the empty soulless eyes of his mask as he watched her nose correct itself and heal.

"Now I get it," he said understanding. "This is nanobiology. So this is the good doctor's work, eh? She's always been so _brilliant_ with her research."

Ana flinched as Reaper spat the last part with so much hatred.

"Seems like she made a wonderful breakthrough," he continued. "Maybe this wasn't a wasted trip after all. Looks like you and I have a date, Captain."

Reaper smashed his forehead into hers as hard as he could. Ana went limp in his arms and he watched with malicious glee as a knot on her head healed up and she slumped in his hands. He looked over at Jack who was trying to get to his feet.

"I might as well take you along for the ride too," Reaper said as he walked over to Soldier 76, Ana in tow, and kicked him in the head.

"Been waiting a long time for this, Jack," Reaper hissed as Jack blacked out.

Reaper looked over the side of the ledge to see how the squads were fairing. More than half were still on their feet and keeping Overwatch at bay but they couldn't get to the bodies inside. Reaper growled into his communications.

"Retreat!" He said to his soldiers. "I want a full retreat to the Claw. Transport? I want you to come pick me up at the building on the north side. I have two guests who will be joining us."

"Rodger that, sir."

Reaper watched as his troops covered the retreat, the Claw coming in briefly to pick them up while Overwatch tried in vain to keep them grounded. It wasn't until the Claw landed on the rooftop that Pharah and Mercy flew into view.

Reaper blasted shot after shot keeping Pharah on the defense and he realized she was protecting Mercy. How sweet, Reaper thought as he provided covering fire while his troops loaded Jack and Ana into the transport.

"Mother!" Pharah cried in anger and anguish. Her attacks went from defensive to offensive in the blink of an eye. Reaper barely made it inside in time before a bombardment of missiles rained down on them.

"Status report!" he bellowed to the pilot.

"We've taken extensive damage but we can still fly," the pilot yelled back over the sounds of explosions peppering the hull.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Reaper screamed back. "Get us the hell out of here! Now!"

Pharah had actually grabbed onto the door of the hangar with all her suit's power, trying desperately beyond reason or hope to tear it open. "Mama!" she screamed. "Let go of my mother you bastards!"

The transport started to fly away and Pharah pulled on the metal of the cargo door. Metal screamed as the claws of her suit buried themselves in the aircraft.

"Pharah!" Fareeha heard above the whine of the anti-gravity engines. "Let go! You can't tear it open! Pharah please!"

It took Pharah a moment to realize it was Angela pleading with her to let go. _No,_ she thought, _I lost my mother once before and I will not lose her again_. She hung on as the aircraft started picking up speed and altitude. Pharah started to feel cold and her vision was tunneling.

"Fareeha!" Angela screamed from the ground through the communications link. "Please, Liebling! Please stop! Let go!"

Fareeha was about to scream that she wasn't going to lose her mother a second time when she felt the thin air getting to her. She was too high up and the plane was about to fly off at full speed. She knew that if she held on any longer, it would be impossible to stay with it. No matter how powerful her suit was, it could not hang onto a transport jet at mach five. Her head felt light and she felt herself let go. It felt like floating and in the last moment of consciousness, she saw the plane fly higher and quickly away. She last thought of her mother as she blacked out.

Angela screamed as Pharah plummeted towards the unforgiving ground. She spread her wings and flew as fast as she could but paused only when she saw the hulking form of Reinhardt leap into the air, grabbing the unconscious woman and landing with her safely wrapped in his armored arms.

Angela was crying and mumbling incoherently as she reached her lover's side. "Fareeha, can you hear me?" she screamed. "Fareeha!"

Pharah moaned and Angela immediately kissed her and cried. She didn't care if their secret was out. All she cared about was her love.

"Come on, Mercy" Reinhardt was saying. "I've got her. We need to get out of here. We can tend to her in the transport, _ja?_ "

Angela sniffed and looked at Reinhardt. She looked at Torbjörn before turning back to Reinhardt and nodding.

" _Ja,_ " she agreed. "We need to go. We're going to have to report this to Winston and find out what to do next."

"Where's the Captain and Soldier 76?" Torbjörn asked looking around.

"Talon took them," Angela explained running her hand down Fareeha's cheek. "That's why Pharah was trying to tear the plane apart."

Reinhardt and Torbjörn looked at each other in horror. " _Scheisse!_ " Reinhardt spat. "Aw, damn it. If they crack open the nanobiology that Ana went through and figure out how to do it..."

"I know," Angela said with fresh tears. "This is a big mess."

"OK," Torbjörn said, keeping the peace. "Let's get Fareeha on the transport and get back to Gibraltar. We'll get the rest of the gang and see how we can get them back."

They moved quickly to the plane. Fareeha was laid gently onto a bench inside. Torb set off quickly as Angela and Reinhardt removed Pharah's helmet. She opened her eyes some at Angela's touch.

"I've got you, _liebling,_ " Angela said softly touching Fareeha's cheek. "You're safe."

"Winston? You copy?" Torbjörn was saying as the transport cruised at a stealthy and safe speed back to Spain.

"Winston here," the reply came. "How's the mission?"

"Mission complete but we have a problem," Torb said with a sigh. "You might wanna gather the crew, Big Guy. We have a serious issue."

2

 _Watchpoint, Gibraltar_

Winston was standing in the hangar when the transport arrived. Reinhardt and Torbjörn were first off with Angela and Fareeha taking up the rear. The Egyptian was pale and looked like she hadn't rested since being brought onto the aircraft. Her eyes filled with tears as she hugged Winston.

"I can't lose her again, Winston," she said holding him her sobs as best as she could. Angela only looked away as to not cry as well.

"We'll get them back," Winston said solemnly. "I got some backup for the next assault. Lena and Amélie are already here from London and D. Va arrived yesterday shortly after everyone left for missions."

Torbjörn whistled low and shook his head. "I bet the lass was none too happy that everyone was gone when she got here."

"I kept her entertained for a while," Winston admitted as they started walking inside. "She even let me win a few games of Starcraft 4."

They walked inside from the hangar when Winston said "We need to a have a major debriefing. All three missions are completed with varying results and we need to plan our next move accordingly."

The others gave their affirmation before Winston made his way to the main lab.

Angela walked with Fareeha, holding her hand. She said something softly to Fareeha and the woman nodded before kissing Angela softly and going to the Forge.

"She dropping off her suit?" Reinhardt asked.

" _Ja,_ " Angela said a little sadly. "It will give her some time also to clear her head."

"I should too," Reinhardt said. "I'll keep an eye on her from a respectful distance."

" _Danke,_ Wilhelm," Angela said sincerely as the great knight marched towards the Forge as well.

"I'll go as well," Torb said. "Better make sure her suit is at least fixed up for when we go back to get her."

Angela watched Torb follow Reinhardt and Fareeha down the hallways to the Forge with a great sadness. She found herself thinking about the way Fareeha had fallen from the sky and how she had felt so helpless. Maybe she should make some adjustments to her Valkyrie suit so that she can do more.

 _Who am I kidding,_ she thought. _I'm not combat trained. I'm a doctor not a soldier. I abhor violence and do everything in my power to heal over harm._

She looked at her hands. These strong, capable hands have saved more lives that she can count. She has created medical advancements that revolutionized medicine. _Is just saving lives worth it,_ she thought.

Once again she thought of her beloved Fareeha. Strong, beautiful Fareeha. She could take out entire armies and inspire soldiers with her ferocity in battle but Angela knew she was also gentle. Those lips that screamed war cries were the same that could envelope hers and send shivers of passion through her body. Those hands and muscles of hers were just as soft and pliable as they were battle hardened. Angela smiled to herself thinking of the wonderful paradox that was her lover.

"Ooh, you must be thinking of something really nice," Angela heard a voice say. "Or _someone_. I bet I can guess who."

Angela turned with a smile to the young Korean woman who approached. Hana Song was dressed in white capris and a blue baggy T Shirt with her signature gamer bunny on the front. The little woman practically jumped in Angela's arms.

"Heya Angie," Hana said hugging the doctor tight. "I got here as fast as I could. It seems like lots of stuff is going on. Good and bad."

" _Ja_ ," Angela sighed. "I was just thinking about what just happened. We stopped Talon from looting the morgue but lost Jack and Ana."

Hana's eyes grew wide. "Oh no," she said as the color drained from her cheeks. "Oh my God are they dead?"

"Oh, no!" Angela quickly replied. "But Talon captured them. Reaper probably saw some potential uses for Ana's new … um … 'condition'. We don't know where Talon would have a base nearby. We already checked out locations Amélie knew of in Italy, but they had already moved from those areas."

"We'll get them back," Hana said with a determined voice and a comforting hand on Angela's shoulder. "Jack and Ana are pretty darn tough. Talon is going to have a rough time trying to break those two."

"I hope so," Angela said looking back to where she had watched Fareeha walk away.

"Seems like we've all got something to share, eh?" Hana said. "Jesse came back to base saying he gathered some prime intel and Lena and Widow – uh, I mean Amélie – came in from London a little before I arrived."

Angela chuckled some. "Takes some time to get used to knowing her name and calling her by it," she said referring to Widowmaker.

"Yeah," Hana said with a shrug. "I didn't really know what to expect with her, y'know. She's … different."

"Well, for those of us who knew her before all the conditioning it's very odd to adjust to," Angela agreed. "It's like she's the long lost twin sister or something."

"She's pretty tsundere that's for sure," Hana said while they walked inside.

"What's 'tsundere'?"

"I forgot, you don't watch any anime," Hana giggled. "Tsundere is a Japanese thing. It means someone is cold and sometimes hostile towards others before eventually warming up to them. Most of the time it's a girl who pretends to not be interested in the boy of the story but she secretly loves him and, by the end of the series, they are dating or something."

"She's still learning to express emotions more," Angela said nodding. "It takes some getting used to."

"Yeah, I can see that," Hana said. "She was with Lena and me in my room when we were catching up on stuff. Didn't talk much. Her face was impassive most of the time but, sometimes, she'd smile or even chuckle briefly and then it was back to impassive. Once in a while, Lena would cuddle up to her and she's wrap her arms around her and lay her head on Lena's shoulder. It was cute and you can tell that she really loves Lena but it's kinda weird seeing no emotion on a person's face even when they are doing every day things."

"It's all in her eyes for now," Angela said with a smile. "Sometimes, she shows subtle expressions, like raising her eyebrows or narrowing her eyes, and she smiles and even laughs on occasion. If you really want to be sure about what she's feeling most of the time, it's in her eyes."

"I really like her eyes," Hana said smiling. "They are so pretty! I don't know what all Talon did to turn them gold, but they are beautiful. Kinda reminds me of a big cat, you know? Like a lion or something."

Angela chuckled and gave Hana a friendly bump on the arm. "I thought that same thing," she said.

"Great minds think alike," Hana laughed.

"Indeed," Angela agreed as they made their way into the main lab.

When she entered, Lena hopped up from leaning on a wall next to Amélie and gave Angela a huge hug.

"Is everyone ok?" the Brit asked.

Angela returned the hug briefly. "At least they aren't dead," she replied. "For now."

Jesse sauntered in and nodded at the women before approaching. "Ah good, I heard you guys got back," he said.

"Mostly," Angela said giving him a nod back.

"So Morrison and Amari really got nabbed?"

"Yes."

"Damn," Jesse cursed and shook his head. "Is Fareeha ok?"

"She's shaken up," Angela said. "Trying to 'soldier on' so to speak. You have to understand, she just got her mother back after thinking her dead, the accident in the medical lab, and now this happened."

Amélie cursed softly in French, admonishing herself, and the others turned to her briefly. The assassin had a look in her eyes so fierce that everyone stiffened in silence. Hana said something under her breath like "oh wow … scary".

"Oh, no you don't," Lena said turning to her. "Don't you go into that whole self depreciating mode of how you think this is somehow your bloody fault."

Amélie turned to Lena and the fire faded some from her eyes. "This is the second time Talon has taken her mother from her, _chérie,_ I am not foolish enough to think she will not, in some part, hold that against me."

"Aw c'mon, Frenchie," Jesse said and actually threw his arm around the woman's shoulders. She crossed her arms and looked away but didn't move otherwise. "You've been with us long enough to put to bed any thoughts about betrayal or past transgression, ya hear?"

"She knows that wasn't really you," Angela said sincerely. "Believe me, if she were still holding you accountable for her mother's 'death', you would know it."

"The other's ought to be showing up soon," Jesse said turning Amélie away and leading her into the lab. "Better go pop a squat. Lots to talk about."

Lena squeaked in protest as she jogged up and detangled Amélie from Jesse's embrace with a mock scowl. Jesse only held up his hands in surrender and chuckled. Amélie smirked slightly and kissed Lena's temple as they made their way to a comfortable spot.

"You're right," Hana said with a smile. "It is pretty much all in her eyes, huh?"

"She's getting better," Angela agreed. "You see? She's pretty passionate about things and sometimes exaggerates without realizing it."

"Yeah, Lena has to help her out now and then," Hana said watching the two quietly talk to each other. They stood close together but weren't holding hands or showing any other signs of affection.

They broke conversation as Reinhardt and Torbjörn entered the lab. Reinhardt was in the Overwatch "uniform" of black cargo pants, combat boots, and tank top. He nodded to Angela and made a motion with his head towards the door behind them as he passed. Angela nodded and looked towards Fareeha as she entered also wearing the Overwatch "uniform".

Hana gave Angela a nod and then gave Fareeha a smile and hug. The Egyptian smiled in return and hugged Hana tightly while telling her how good it was to see her at long last. Hana released her from the hug and nodded to Angela again as she went and stood by Jesse.

"Are you alright?" Angela asked her as she came up close.

Fareeha could barely look her in the eye as she fidgeted. "I just hope she's still alive."

Angela wanted to comfort her so much and stood for a moment, fighting with her need to show comfort to her love or follow protocols during a debriefing. Screw it, she thought and enveloped Fareeha in an all encompassing embrace.

"We'll get her back," Angela said and stroked the woman's hair. "We'll get them both back. I will do everything I can to help you. We all will."

Fareeha nodded and started to pull out of the embrace when she saw everyone's eyes on them. When she saw only compassion and understanding, even from Amélie, she only turned in Angela's arms and stayed in her embrace. Winston merely nodded and cleared his throat in a very human gesture to get everyone's attention.

"I think we should start with what happened in Kings Row," he said. "Since most of the rest of us were in Berlin."

"Right-O," Lena said stepping up. "The good news is the Prime Minister is alive. She got a right good fright and was shaken up pretty bloody well, but alive and in one piece."

"The assassin was hard to detect," Amélie went on, "she was cold – more than I am – and I could only see her with night vision on my visor. She was quick and efficient. Unlike when I had my mission there, she didn't hesitate to kill anyone in her way. The guards she took out on the roof by knocking them unconscious. The two on stage, as well as the large military omnic unit, she killed either with her rifle or, in the case of the omnic, a bomb."

"Amélie had to take her out," Lena said with a frown. "There was no chance of a capture with this one. After I protected the Prime Minister from the bomb, the assassin had me bang to rights. Unlike my beautiful counterpart here, she was not going to hesitate in putting a bullet in my head."

"How did the second explosion happen?" Winston asked.

"After taking the assassin out, we went to help the Prime Minister and heard a loud whine," Lena explained. "Amélie recognized it as a cortex bomb and made with her grapple to get the PM to safety. The fuse was so short though, I had to grab them both and blink us up on the roof nearby before we all got barbecued."

"Sounds like the assassin was expendable," Torbjörn said. "Unlike Amélie here, Talon seems to only have these assassins do their duty whether it kills them or not."

"Like Zerg," D. Va interjected. "You guys have seen me play. Zerglings are small, vicious, and cheap shock troops to make at the Zerg base in Starcraft 4. You can make a bunch and do lots of damage in a short amount of time and they are fodder to weaken an enemy so your big guns can slip in and pew pew."

"There was just the one," Lena said. "Like Amélie said, she was pretty quick and efficient. Almost didn't make it in time and that's with a Talon trained assassin/sniper and an agent with a time machine strapped her her chest."

"She wasn't just cold," Amélie said ominously. "That woman looked me right in the eye and I saw nothing but a void. I don't mean no emotion or hardened resolve like I usually am on a mission, I mean no soul whatsoever. That woman was not alive."

Everyone shifted uncomfortably. The quiet in the room drifted like a heavy fog of dread.

"Athena made the connection to the assassin and April Whats-her-name," D. Va said with equal dread. "Holy crap on a cracker, this is some freaky stuff."

"So, the bird really was dead?" Lena said growing pale.

"We think so," Winston said. He opened some back files and he and Athena displayed the facial recognition from the still of D. Va's footage from the morgues and assassinations and the records of the autopsy of the same woman.

"That explains why they are raiding morgues like ghouls," Angela said with a disgusted tone. Everyone could tell she hated this. Angela was a doctor and it was no secret she held her training and Hippocratic Oath very seriously. To desecrate the dead was beyond any horror or atrocity Talon could have done. She cursed so vividly in German that even Reinhardt shifted and gave her a surprised look.

"I take it there was nothing left of her once the cortex bomb went off?" Angela said but already knew the answer.

"There was barely a platform left," Amélie answered. "Even with Lena's quick thinking and chronal accelerator, all three of us felt the heat. The Prime Minister is alive but her exquisite pant suit jacket was ruined."

"Yeah, can't take smoldering burns to the dry cleaners," Lena said shaking her head. "I'm seriously surprised Amélie didn't lose some of her ponytail."

"It's good that you two were able to work quickly then," Winston said. "Not just to save the Prime Minister but keep yourselves from harm as well. Any casualties?"

"The two security guards, the large omnic unit," Lena said thinking. "After making sure the PM was safe, Amélie and I skedaddled to a safe spot so my accelerator could recharge. From there we saw the fire brigade and ambulances."

"Several civilian injuries but none that seemed too severe," Amélie replied. "No body bags."

The sigh of relief was almost audible as the room relaxed some.

"Well done," Winston said. "It's too bad the assassin couldn't be captured but at least she didn't kill the Prime Minister or take out too many at the rally."

"Now we just have to figure out how a dead girl showed up in London to take out the Prime Minister," Reinhardt said.

"I think I got answers to that," Jesse said and stepped forward. "While you guys were doing your thing, I followed a trail set out to Athena for us to follow. Little puzzles and riddles that had me going home actually. When I got there, I was told to meet with someone. This someone turned out to be a very good informant about our situation and what Talon is involved in."

Everyone straightened at this information. This was a huge break in the mystery and an even larger bomb that the informant came to them.

"How'd they get this info?" Fareeha asked. She was a security expert and everyone knew if anyone was suspicious of important intel falling into their laps, it was the Chief of Helix International.

Jesse stopped short of the main console and thought for a moment before turning to Amélie.

"She asked about you," Jesse simply told her. "I didn't tell her details, of course, but you had your own angel watching out for you in Talon."

Amélie frowned for a moment and she glanced at Lena before looking back at Jesse with wide eyes. There was only one person who showed her any attention or even a semblance of companionship at Talon.

"Sombra?" she asked with a hushed whisper. "You met with _Sombra?_ "

"Interesting gal," Jesse chuckled as the others looked on with equal surprise and apprehension. "And before anyone goes on and on about how can possibly we trust a Talon agent and how do we know she's not trying to screw us over, I already examined the data and took care of all of that before I got back to Spain. I was in Blackwatch you remember. I ain't stupid."

"Sombra never does anything without it benefiting her," Amélie said with caution. "She is a mercenary through and through. In fact, the only reason she is even associated with Talon is because they pay her for her services. It's not like she is loyal."

" _Exactamente_ ," Jesse said giving her a finger pistol. "That being said, the girl does have a heart. Lemme tell y'all why we can trust her with this. That little girl was not just disgusted by what Talon was doing, she was downright furious. Furious enough to seek out Overwatch and spill the beans about what's going on. Whatever Talon is up to, it has one of their top people wanted to turn tail and disappear after she helps it go down in flames."

"And," he added looking directly at Amélie, "I am willing to bet that she felt something towards you. She seemed right insistent that you be safe and sound. In fact, she says that she saw the same thing Lena here did about you."

Amélie glanced at Lena who smiled back some. "Sounds like a smart bird," Lena said. "Did she have anything to do with the conditioning breaking up enough for Amélie to start thinking straight?"

Jesse tapped his nose and smiled. "That and more," he said. "According to her, she's all about exposing and taking advantage of people who deserve it. She don't mind blackmailing or coercing people who have dirty little secrets because I think deep down, she's been through a lot of hard knocks at the hands of powerful, greedy asses and it's kind of her way to stick it to the man, so to speak."

"So it sounds like she's with Talon more to keep an eye on them than actually part of their agenda," Torbjörn said. "Sort of a 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' kinda thing, eh?"

"Shoot," Jesse laughed. "Sounds like I don't have to explain much at all to y'all."

"But you are sure this isn't a trap?" Fareeha said with all seriousness. "Not to offend in any way, but Amélie was brainwashed and went through extensive torture and major reconditioning. She was not Widowmaker of her own free will but this … Sombra … what do we really know about her?"

Amélie had been silent and deep in thought as they discussed the pros and cons. Lena touched her arm and met her eyes with compassion. Amélie sighed as she remembered her days with Talon as best as she could. The memory that she vividly remembered was the strawberries she had stolen while they had been on a mission.

 _"What are those?" Sombra asked and it made Amélie jump. The little woman could be sneaky sometimes and Amélie realized she had been so enraptured by the strawberries she hadn't noticed the other woman. She was glad it hadn't been Reaper._

 _"Strawberries," Amélie replied quietly. She seemed a bit embarrassed which was very odd. She hadn't felt embarrassed in a long time and it made her very uncomfortable._

 _"When did you go shopping?" Sombra said sitting next to her. Amélie wasn't in a mess hall or her own private quarters. She had actually sneaked away to a secluded area that she knew few people came through. She had thought she would be alone to explore the guilty pleasure of the contraband fruit. If Sombra had found her, that meant the woman was following her. The thought made Amélie angry. She was about to storm off when Sombra spoke again._

 _"Can I have one?"_

 _Amélie looked at Sombra then. She wasn't teasing her or even had that annoying mischievous smirk on her face. Sombra only had a friendly smile on her face and a sincere look in her eyes._

 _"Oui," Amélie said and watched as Sombra took one and actually hummed in pleasure as she bit into it._

 _"Dios Mio," she said with a satisfied swallow. "I miss fresh fruit. I used to get some apples or oranges from the food carts in Mexico when I was a kid. Sometimes people would feel sorry for a street orphan and cut you a break. I didn't know you liked strawberries."_

 _Amélie thought about it. "Neither did I," she replied softly._

 _She stiffened as she chided herself for letting that slip. Her eyes slid to Sombra who was only taking another bite. The girl was smart and slippery, but she wasn't taking this information like she usually did. Could it be that Sombra was just having conversation with her? It was … odd._

 _"I know you probably don't remember much about yourself before Talon," Sombra said low and Amélie realized she was doing it on purpose in case she wasn't the only one wandering nearby within earshot. "It's alright. This will be our little secret."_

 _Amélie's eyes narrowed and she studied the hacker for a few moments. "And what will you do with this little secret of ours?"_

 _Sombra merely smiled and held out her hand with her pinkie finger extended. "I won't tell anyone. Pinkie swear."_

 _Amélie had no idea what that meant, but Sombra huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes before taking Amélie's hand and locking her pinkie finger with hers. She gave it a little shake like they were making an agreement._

 _"Pinkie swear," she repeated._

 _Amélie didn't think anything of it until a few days later, she had returned from a mission to find a bag of strawberries in a plastic bag on her bed in her quarters. She frowned a bit at them and wondered what Sombra was up to._

 _They turned out to be fresh and delicious._

"Make sure you scan the data first," Amélie said. "We can trust her to be sincere. If Talon has done something that upset her, she will definitely help stop them."

"That's what she was telling me too," Jesse said. "I believe her. Her reasons may not be altruistic, but she doesn't seem like the kind of woman you want to piss off."

Athena scanned the data disk quickly and announced it was clean. A little encryption was made to the information but only because these were the files stolen from Talon's databases. Once opened, they turned out to be blueprints and charts of cybernetic enhancements. The project was named Widowmaker 2.0.

"Seems like they are going more for cybernetic enhancements than just augmentations," Angela observed. "That's extensive work compared to the original Widowmaker."

"I don't have any cybernetic enhancements," Amélie said frowning at the screens. "They kept me pretty natural."

"Must be so they could do better conditioning," Winston said adjusting his glasses. "They didn't want to worry about your body taking on accepting cybernetics while it was going through all the brainwashing. You probably wouldn't have been able to handle that and died."

"True," Amélie nodded. "This explains the mission in Japan when I defected," she added pointing at the specs for cortex manipulation.

"Ah yeah," Lena said remembering. "Talon stole some tech and data from Kusanagi."

"We seem to have found out what they needed all the cybernetic tech for," Torbjörn said crossing his arms. "Only thing is, that is a _lot_ of tech to load into someone. The subject would be in recovery for a good while."

"Unless the subject is dead," Hana said quietly. "Dude, they are making cyber-zombies."

"Why would they need to do that when they could just make robots?" Fareeha spoke up. "I mean, what's the point?"

"I am," Amélie said with a nod. Her eyes sharpened as understanding formed. "You see, I'm one of Talon's greatest experiments. They took a totally innocent civilian girl and reprogrammed her into a weapon. I am fast, I am accurate, I am focused, and I am nearly flawless," she took a deep breath and sighed," _nearly_ flawless."

"You still had your will," Lena said as she, too, understood. "They could program you and keep you more or less under control but the human mind cannot be fully remade."

"The human body is, in fact, a perfect machine," Amélie nodded. "All you have to do is make some additions and you have another weapon as fast, agile, and deadly as Widowmaker. A straight forward man-made machine is not as fast, agile, or responsive. Even omnics can perform slower when it comes to certain tasks."

"When Lena and I were in London," she continued, addressing the group, "the PM had a Bastion on the platform with her. It had barely moved to intercept the assassin, who was right there on stage with it, before she blew it up and rendered it useless within seconds."

"The only improvement to the experiment would be to make assassins who could not break programming," Winston said thinking. "And the best way to do that would be people who have no will at all."

"Dead people," D. Va shivered. "Holy smokes, guys! They _are_ making cyber-zombies!"

"Now we know why they are stealing bodies and all that tech," Jesse said. "But we need to figure out where they are doing this."

"There are some video files of testing," Athena said. "I see four of them in total. Shall I play them?"

"Yes, go ahead Athena," Winston replied. "Let's see what we are dealing with."

The first video showed a lab in what appeared to be a large building. There were rounded ceilings which Fareeha pointed out meant it was probably a hangar of some sort. Some people were in strange black suits with Talon logos mixed in with regular white lab coats which Amélie explained were Talon scientists and engineers. She explained quickly that the ones in black were the same kind who handled her treatments. Lena had to gently rub her back as the woman seemed upset at seeing them.

There were several people hooked up to various machinery. Even on video, everyone could see they were clearly dead. There were five of them including the familiar face of April.

The video cut scene to a black uniformed scientist who was speaking in German. Angela translated for those who didn't speak the language and informed them that this was an "Heir Doktor Shwartz" and that he seemed to be in charge of something called Project 2501. He continued on bringing attention to a dead woman on a table who had several cords and wires connected to various areas of her naked body. The doctor had whoever was controlling the camera to follow and he closely examined some things with the woman. After pointing out various things like how they had some kind of cortex stimulation that was originally supposed to be developed to treat people suffering from nerve damage, quadriplegic, and other victims of paralysis, the doctor then stood back and said a command.

" _Erwache jetzt!_ (Angela translated this to 'awaken now')" he said firmly. " _Aufgehen!_ (which meant 'rise up')"

The girl opened her eyes and sat up on the examination table without hesitation. Her eyes were blank and glowed with a dim red. Hana actually gasped and grabbed hold of Jesse.

"Oh, geez," she said frightened. The rest of what she said was in a hushed whisper of Korean but Jesse could tell she was terrified and comforted her.

Everyone glanced at Amélie who, as usual, had no outward expression on her face outside of a tightening to her lips. Her eyes, however, were smoldering with fury as she watched the naked woman on screen move about, bend, jump, and move with fluid grace.

"They are modeled after me," Amélie said with barely restrained anger. "They aren't just assassins, they are practically clones of my movements."

Her hands were curled into fists so hard they were shaking. Lena reached over and soothingly stroked her back. Up and down, slowly running her fingers over the tattoo, tracing the legs of the spider and the lines of the design.

"Calming breaths, love," she said serenely, her hand never slowing its rhythmic movements. "We're all pissed about this. Don't let it get to your head, eh?"

She hummed softly for a few moments when, finally, Amélie closed her eyes and let out a breath before inhaling deeply and letting that out as well. When she opened her eyes, the determination was still there but the anger had gone down. Lena stopped moving her hand but kept it comfortably on her back. Amélie said nothing but leaned in to touch shoulders with her British girlfriend.

The other videos showed four of the assassins going through training exercises. They leaped over obstacles and took out targets in movements so fluid, it was like the Overwatch crew was watching a ballet. After some time of showing their training, a figure came up and addressed the scientist: Reaper.

"As you can see, Reaper, zey are flawless," the scientist was saying proudly in a thick German accent. "Flawless in every vay outside of some regular, much cheaper, maintenance."

"Widowmaker was flawless too," Reaper said seemingly unconvinced. "Yet she had weaknesses. What makes these so special compared to her?"

"Zey don't have to be vatched," the scientist answered. "Ve also don't have to vorry about zem needing treatments to keep zem in line. Zey do vhatever ve tell zem to do and if zey get destroyed, so vhat? Ve can make more."

"You make it sound like we can just raise the dead easily," Reaper said. "You still need bodies."

"Ha," the scientist said tapping out a cigarette from a pack in his pocket. "Talon has many soldiers ve can use zis technology on. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter. Once these experiments are perfected, zey will be an army of compliant, flawless, soldiers."

He struck a match on the side of one woman's face to light his cigarette. She didn't even flinch.

"Zey are more than Vidowmaker was," he went on blowing out the cigarette smoke. "Zey have no emotion, no body heat, no vill, and no complaints. Zey exist for von reason and von alone: to kill our enemies with no fear or hesitation."

"They can still be destroyed," Reaper said.

" _Ja,_ " the scientist agreed, "but all of zem have been fitted with a cortex bomb zat is controlled by zeir inner computers to time ze perfect opportunity to arm and explode. Even if they go down, they will make sure not to go down alone."

"That was all the recording contained," Athena said. Everyone sat around in stunned silence. Amélie hadn't moved.

"All that work," she said. "They used me and I was never anything to them was I?"

Everyone looked at her and she sighed.

"I thought I was proving myself to them," she said bitterly. "They not only reprogrammed me to forget who I was but to think I was something important to them. I never was more than a test subject. They were only using me to collect data to build this."

Lena rubbed her back again and a tear slipped from Amélie's eye. "I am so truly sorry for everything I have done. I was such a fool."

"It wasn't really you, love," Lena said. "They used you, forced you against your will to do things you never really wanted to do."

"Once you had fulfilled your mission to kill Gérard, they made sure you would have no place to go," Jesse said. "You didn't go back to them because you wanted to. They made you think you wanted to. That ain't your fault. Now you know just how evil those guys can be."

"Rest assured, you are not some experiment to us," Winston said. "You are a part of us, Amélie. A valued member of Overwatch, or what we have left of it."

Amélie nodded and straightened. "We just need to find out where this facility is located."

"I think I figured it out," D. Va said. "There was something in the background of the second video we saw. Their training room looked like an early emergency bunker."

Athena opened the file and played it through until she came to a stop, zooming in on a far wall near a corner. It was indeed rounded and had the massive doors like a hangar.

"Germany made some emergency bases when the United States and Russia had another cold war in the mid 2050s. It never got past some tension and peace talks, but Germany was getting prepared just in case one country or the other started firing missiles," Hana explained. "They have mostly been abandoned and some had even been bought by private corporations. When the Omnic Crisis came, these bases were thought to be the last line of defense in case the omnics tried to take over."

"Looks like Talon must have bought one of them," Fareeha said. "How many are in Germany?"

"I'm checking that," Athena replied. She seemed to be pin pointing various areas on a Germany map before cross referencing Talon activity and a close trajectory point back to Germany. "It seems the most logical one is Mittenwald. There is a former military now private owned area there."

"That's near Berlin and other areas where they have tried to get bodies," Fareeha said.

"That's where they could have moved some of their operations from Italy too," Amélie added.

"What you wanna bet they moved Jack and Ana there too?" Jesse said.

They all straightened at that and Winston grunted. "We should get coordinates and launch an attack at this base," he said before adding, "but not just yet. We need to rest and regroup before we set out again."

"We may not have that kind of time," Fareeha protested. "If they move Mama and Jack, who knows where they could be."

"I know but we can't go in and launch an assault without everyone at their best. We should recuperate first," Winston said sympathetically.

Fareeha was having none of it. "Winston, when it comes to my mother and putting an end to this, I will fight until my last breath if I have to!" she said standing straight and defiant. The others looked on with awe before, one by one, they stood in agreement. Even Angela who took Fareeha's hand and held it tightly.

Winston sighed. "If you are sure about this…?"

"I am," Fareeha said with confident look.

"Very well," Winston said with a nod. "Everyone suit up and get ready for deployment in one hour. It will take Athena and me that long to pinpoint the coordinates properly and plan the assault."

"Yes sir!" was the unanimous reply before everyone moved quickly to get ready.

"Torb, how long until my suit is fully repaired?" Fareeha asked as they went quickly towards the Forge.

"Short notice, but I can get it up to at least ninety/ninety- five percent," Torbjörn replied. "It will have to be in for a major check up if you push hard."

Fareeha only smiled wickedly. "Oh, no question of that," she said. "I'm going to push hard alright."

Reinhardt laughed heartily at that. "We all will," he boomed. "Gotta get our Captain and Morrison back. Wouldn't be the same without the Strike Commander grumping and groaning around here!"

"Or Mama being a mother hen!" Fareeha laughed along. They all chuckled at that.

3

 _Talon Facility, Mittenwald, Germany_

The world felt like it was spinning in a painful, throbbing, spiral. Jack groaned and tried to open his eyes. He blinked at the dimly lit painful, throbbing, spiral that welcomed him. His facemask had been taken off as well as his jacket. He was laying down in a holding cell of some sort. As he tried to get a bearing on his surroundings, he heard another groan. It was smaller and familiar.

"Ana?" he whispered. Even to him, his whisper sounded grated and harsh. It echoed unnecessarily loud to his ears. "Ana, is that you?"

"I hope that is you, Jack," he heard Ana say in return. "I've had enough surprise recognition for today."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm banged up but nothing too severe," she answered and Jack could hear a small scuff as if she was repositioning.

"Standard capture and imprison I guess then," Jack said as he tried to focus on the woman beside him. Ana was sitting up now and adjusting to the dark. Her hair was tangled and her face bruised. She opened her eyes to regard him.

"I hope I look better than you do," she said.

"Damn," he said sighing dramatically. "Then I guess my underwear modeling career is over."

Ana chuckled at that. Jack and Ana both quickly looked around at their cell.

"I'd say we're in a shipping container," Ana said. "My eyes are adjusting to what little light is coming in. The echo of our voices means it's definitely an empty metal box."

"Looks about as banged up as us," Jack remarked. "Also means old Reaper captured and detained us without permission from a superior. Wherever we are, they weren't equipped for prisoners."

"So they took out gear, our weapons, and our boots?" Ana said looking at her own toes which she wiggled.

"Yep," Jack said. "Stripped us down to bare minimal. Guess they didn't have anything to bind us with either so they did what they could on short notice."

"Pretty good 'ball and chain' if you ask me," Ana said patting herself down. "I don't even have my tactical belt on."

"Me either," Jack said.

They listened and heard very little. Walking, voices in German, and the occasional sounds of machinery or small vehicles.

"Well, I hear a good deal of German," Jack said. "So I am guessing we're still in Germany."

"Probably haven't figured out what to really do with us," Ana said popping her neck and rolling her shoulders.

"True," Jack said. "Makes me wonder what the hell Reaper is up to."

Ana turned to him with a worried look and touched his arm. Her skin was clammy and, even in the dark, her eyes look luminous and afraid.

"I want to know who the hell he is, Jack," Ana said in a hushed whisper. "He didn't just recognize me. His exact words were 'oh, dear Captain, I know all about you' and it wasn't just some empty scare tactic. He really does know me. He remarked about my eyes like he's seen them before."

"He also knew my name," Jack said remembering. "I recall him taunting me with 'I've been waiting a long time for this, Jack' before he kicked the shit outta me."

"Who could he possibly be?" Ana asked. "Who really opposed us at Overwatch to hate us this much?"

"I dunno," Jack said looking at her sincerely. "But that makes him pretty damn dangerous in my book. If he knows us then that means he probably knows the others. Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Angela, Jesse, and probably Lena too."

"And Fareeha," Ana said with a whisper that was both fear and rage. "Anyone who knew of Overwatch before Winston did the recall knows my daughter."

"Jesse had been suspicious of Talon's training for a while," Jack said turning to her. "He says they show some familiar training from his days with Blackwatch."

"I noticed that with Amélie too," Ana agreed. "She said she was literally programmed and that no one wanted to personally train with her. When she and I did some sniper practice together, I watched very closely. She has the same training I do only improved. Her close range especially shows some techniques of Judo, Jujitsu, and Muay Thai. All standard military but some improved techniques we had at Overwatch."

"I noticed the gun play and the old 'gun and run' we developed during the Omnic Crisis," Jack said rubbing his chin. "Jesse was right. Someone was blabbing our secrets to Talon. Now the only question is who the hell is Reaper and why does he know our business?"

Ana nodded. Jack saw her expression and it surprised him. In all the years he had known the woman he had never seen her so distraught and actually afraid.

"Ana," he said softly brushing her hair from her face. "We're going to get through this. We're going to find a way out of here and we're going to beat this. We always do."

"I know," Ana said with a sigh. "I just … Jack, after this rejuvenation accident, it's opened my eyes to many things I hadn't seen before. I never really knew my daughter like I should have. It wasn't until I got to be her age again that we've really bonded. I was always a soldier first and a mother second and then, when she thought I had died," Ana actually sniffed and it shocked Jack, "she must have been devastated. What if she really loses me this time?"

"Listen to me, Ana, that's not going to happen," Jack said taking her face in his hands. "You've said yourself, this accident was a blessing in disguise and we're not going to give up. You hear? We can't lose."

"I'm scared, Jack," Ana said and a tear slid down her cheek. "I haven't been so scared since Widowmaker took out my eye and I thought I was done for. All I could think of as I lie there, waiting to die, was Fareeha. There wasn't a day that went by when we found each other and had to go into hiding, pretend to be dead, that I didn't think of my precious daughter. It's not fair to be given a second chance only to have it snatched away."

Jack saw the poor woman before him, felt her pain and saw her tears. He never had anyone to care about. He never had a wife or kids. The world needed him and Overwatch had been his family. They still were. Ana and he had been closer than anyone else. He had never really seen the Captain as more than a fellow soldier before. In her moment of vulnerability, Jack saw her as she really was: a mother, a friend, and a woman.

Her eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her as Jack pressed his lips to hers. They were dry and chapped from the ordeal but still warm and comforting. She let go of her fears, felt the pain and worry melt away with the heat of that kiss. She let her eyes close and surrendered to the touch. Lips parted with a sigh and Jack deepened it. His strong arms enveloped her and she wrapped her arms around him in return. A promise to protect one another. They had always been there for each other. They had experienced victory and defeat, sorrow and joys, and even faced and defied death together. This was the unspoken bond they had.

The kiss parted and as they slowly opened their eyes, Jack's widened.

"Oh, shit," he whispered fearfully. "Oh God, Ana, I..."

"Don't you dare apologize, Jack Morrison," Ana said with a stern whisper of her own. "Of all the crazy mixed up, terrifying, and messed up bullshit we have faced together and beat, a kiss shared between two such as we is, in my opinion, a long time coming."

"I know we've been through a lot but I shouldn't have..."

"Do you hear me screaming? Do you see me pushing you away and yelling 'no'?"

Jack just looked at her and shook his head with a sheepish smile. "No," he answered truthfully, "No, I do not."

"Then stop fretting over it like you took advantage of me or something, you old goat," Ana said smiling.

"I crossed a line, Ana," Jack said chewing his lip. "despite all the things you and I have been through, it's no excuse to … I shouldn't have kissed you."

"Jack," Ana said still holding him in her arms. "Mr. Amari and I haven't seen or been together in a long time. I don't even know if he's even still out there to be honest. You and I … well, I am not going to drop the L word here, but you and I are close. Always have been."

"It's still no excuse," Jack said.

"Then we agree to keep things 'normal' between us, yes?"

"I can agree to that."

"And if it should ever happen that we've had one too many at our favorite tavern the night before and wake up in bed together the next morning, well, then it was just meant to be."

Jack laughed. "That sounds suspiciously like a plan to seduce me, Captain."

Ana laughed. Before she could reply the sounds of metal screeching could be heard as the lock on the door to the storage unit was being turned.

Ana and Jack jumped to their feet and assumed defensive poses, ready to fight anything that came through the door.

The light was bright and two Talon troops entered the unit with guns drawn but Ana and Jack didn't move from their positions. Especially after they saw Reaper stroll in behind the two armed guards. He regarded them briefly before waving a hand dismissively.

"You may be able to take out the guards but I guarantee you, I will take you out before you could even squeeze the trigger," Reaper said. "I suggest you keep the heroic act to yourselves if you want to live long."

"But then you wouldn't have us for whatever you're planning," Jack said with a smirk. "If you wanted us dead, we'd already be dead. If you think hollow threats will scare us, buddy, you don't know who you're dealing with."

Reaper laughed an evil sounding chuckle that sounded like every demon in hell whooped for joy. It made even Jack shiver for a moment.

"I know exactly who I'm dealing with," Reaper said. " _Commander_ John 'Jack' Morrison. Looks like you've been holding up well since the Soldier Program. Not as good as Angela's little miracle with Captain Amari here but still pretty fly for an old guy."

Jack was taken aback by the mention of the Soldier Program. Overwatch didn't even know the details or name of the classified military operation. Jack glanced at Ana who hadn't so much as flinched.

"Who the hell _are you?"_ Jack asked through clenched teeth. He had taken a step forward but the armed guard blocked any further movement with the business end of his rifle.

"Why Jack, I'm surprised you haven't figured that out yet," Reaper said stepping forward. "I command Talon's elite forces like I should. I'm a _real_ commander. I get things done."

Jack and Ana watched as Reaper reached up and pulled away the skull mask. "You were never fit to lead, you pompous ass," Reaper said and stepped into better light.

His face looked like something out of a horror movie. Twisted and unnatural, it was the face of someone dead but not dead. Animated more than actually alive. And the face, despite the advanced form of decay, was recognizable.

Jack was stunned beyond words and Ana actually choked.

"Oh my God," Ana breathed. "Gabriel?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

1

 _Mittenwald, Germany Overwatch Strike Team Transport_

Lena had piloted the transport to Mittenwald. Although the situation was tense, Tracer had her few moments of bliss. She loved flying. It had her head literally and figuratively in the clouds but once she had autopilot on, she joined the others for a strike team briefing. It was Amélie's contribution that proved the most valuable along with the intel they got from Sombra.

"These research and development facilities are normally out of the public eye and kept far from civilized areas," Amélie was explaining. "That will not mean security will be minimal. Because of the confidential and often times dangerous projects contained and tested within, security is normally above average."

"What kind of security is normally used at these?" Fareeha asked.

"Elite soldiers with night vision goggles, automatic weapons, and quite possibly CCTV cameras and patrolling spy drones," Amélie replied. "The weakpoint to this is Talon has to make the rest of the world think this is simply an abandoned German emergency fallout base that is no longer used nor needed. The land is privately owned and simply undeveloped. That means everything they do, anything going in or out, or security has to be completely hidden as to not raise any suspicion."

"So they will do pretty much anything to keep things quiet," Reinhardt said. "And if anyone comes crashing the party with loud noise and explosions, Talon will work to contain the problem quickly before it can raise too much attention."

"Exactly," Amélie said. "So I propose we use their weakness against them."

"How?" D. Va asked.

"Noise makers and a secondary strike team," Amélie answered. "If some of us come crashing into their front door, the whole base will be on alert and mobilize to handle the problem in order to keep the base secret. Meanwhile, a secondary team goes in, finds Captain Amari and Soldier 76 and rescues them."

"Could the second team also work to sabotage the operations?" Fareeha asked.

" _Oui,_ " Amélie nodded. "Two birds with one stone, _non?_ "

"If we get the Cap and 76 out and blow the place sky high, then Talon can't just rebuild later on after the smoke clears because the location would be compromised," Torbjörn said with a grunt.

The others nodded in agreement.

"We aren't just cutting off the hydra's heads," D. Va said. "we're burning the stumps so they can't grow back. The best way to take out an enemy is crippling them first. Take out their reserves and resources."

"Exactly," Amélie said. "In this case, this facility is secret and one of their prime locations considering the location. We will probably cripple many European operations by taking this base out."

She gave Hana a smile. "You will have to teach me these real-time tactical games you play. They sound like excellent training."

"And they are totally fun!" Hana exclaimed. "It's a deal!"

"OK, so how do we split into groups?" Fareeha asked.

"I'm thinking I'll go with Amélie and Jesse for the sneaky part," Lena suggested. "We've been able to do infiltration but I dunno if just the three of us would be able to rescue and sabotage."

"I got your back," Torbjörn said proudly. "I'm not exactly stealthy but I'm a little fellow and I know my way around electronics and whatnot to make a mess of things and start some fires."

"Sounds like a plan" Jesse spoke up. "Besides, if we get some gear to Ana and Jack, well, they'll pitch in with the fire starting."

"I hope they are still in good enough shape to fight," Amélie said and Fareeha visibly shivered. "The good news is that they have no real place to put prisoners here."

"How do you know that?" Fareeha asked.

"It's a research and development facility," Amélie shrugged. "They don't have to contain any of the subjects because … well, they are dead. Other weapons and projects are kept close at hand so no holding cells are needed."

"When they kidnapped you," Angela said carefully and paused to make sure it didn't cause an adverse reaction from Amélie, "where did they keep you while you were … you know."

"As far as I remember, they kept me strapped to a table in the laboratory," she answered. "I was tested, tortured, and conditioned all from there. They didn't need a holding cell."

"Chances are, they will have Ana in one of those to test her condition," Angela said with barely restrained anger.

"Angie," Lena said concerned. "You ok, love? We're going to get them out of there."

"It's not that," Angela said sighing. "All I wanted to do is help her get her eye back and look what happened. Sometimes, I overstep my bounds and pay the price for it."

"Don't beat yourself up," Fareeha said giving Angela a reassuring touch. "You did give her back her eye. The youth thing was more of a happy accident and believe me, Mama is not complaining."

"But I always end up messing things up when I try to do more than I probably should," Angela said closing her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Fareeha said.

Angela looked around the plane's hold at all her fellow Overwatch members. They all looked concerned.

"Ok, I guess I can talk about this," she said. "You all know of when the Overwatch headquarters was destroyed mysteriously in Zürich?"

They all nodded. Angela looked at Fareeha for encouragement before continuing.

"I went through the wreckage, searching for survivors," she said and took a deep breath. "One of the people I saw in the aftermath was Gabriel Reyes. Now, we all know that Gabriel could be a real ass at times, but he was my friend and he was one of us. He was dying. I couldn't bear to see him die. So, in desperation, I tried to revive him using my Caduceus staff. Instead of healing him, it interfered with some other enhancements or some pre-existing condition he had and just ended up hurting him more. He died even more horribly than if I had just left him alone. I was just trying to save my friend after the horrible disaster and it ended up making him suffer horribly and I failed."

"Angela, that is horrible but that is not your fault," Fareeha said. "You didn't do anything wrong. You tried to save him. You didn't know it was going to do that."

"Don't you understand," Angela said with tears in her eyes. "Every time I try to do something good I end up paying to price for playing God."

"But you aren't playing God," Amélie said quietly. Angela looked at her and saw the understanding and wisdom in those gold eyes. "The things you do, the experiments you perform, they are for furthering good and wholesome benefits to humanity. You are a healer and you are a good, pure person. The 'doctors' that did this to me," she indicated by holding out her arms to bring attention to her lithe, blue body, "they were not healers. They were monsters trying to make more monsters. They didn't want to heal and help or nurture. They used their knowledge and gifts to hurt, maim, kill, and destroy. _That_ is playing God, Angela. Not using the gifts and discoveries you have made to try to make the world a better place."

Angela looked at Amélie and let the words sink in. "You are right," she said and nodded with determination. "I don't use my gifts to hurt. I always try to do my best and sometimes, mistakes happen. Good and bad."

She wiped eyes and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Amélie," she said. The French woman merely smiled and nodded back.

"I'm sure if Gabriel were alive today, he'd know you did your best to try and save him," Lena said.

Angela nodded in agreement but deep in her heart, she still felt the guilt. _I'm so sorry, Gabriel_ , she thought. _I hope you are in a better place_.

"Where should I be?" Angela asked instead of letting past failures bring her down.

"We need you at the front with the heavy hitters," Fareeha said. "Since the rest of us will be getting all the attention so the second team can sneak in, we're going to need you to keep us alive and continuing to distract."

"Landing sequence initiated," Athena announced. "We are cloaked and landing approximately twenty meters from the side walls of the facility."

A holovid of the facility layout came up in the troop transport bay. Fareeha pointed to various locations.

"This wall we are landing near is too wide for both of the watch towers to attack us at the same time," she said pointing. "As soon as we start our assault, we need to take out this tower," she pointed, "the other might not cause any issues at first but they will definitely sound the alarm."

"I will take out the watchmen in the secondary tower," Amélie said. "Once I have dispatched them, I can clear the other from my position, giving you clearance to proceed with taking down the wall."

"Perfect," Fareeha said nodding. "Once they are cleared, Reinhardt, you lead the way and make as loud an entrance as you can, D. Va, you and your little friend thrash and crash as many things and Talon soldiers as you can, and I'll rain some justice from above."

"We'll sneak in from the tower and start heading for the bunkers," Lena said. "Any idea which to start with?"

"We can always check each one out while sabotaging them." Jesse said, "Hopefully, with all the confusion, we can sneak around the chaos until we find what we're looking for."

"The research facility from the video was like a hangar," D. Va said. "Remember the rounded roof and hangar doors? But it seemed fairly small."

Amélie pointed to the third building near the middle. "That one is near the barracks and the mess hall. It also has a few generators hooked up to it."

"Bingo," Lena said. "What else would need so many generators unless you had stuff you needed to keep running in case of an outage?"

"OK, let's lock and load," Fareeha said putting on her helmet and visor.

While waiting for the aircraft to land, D. Va noticed Amélie close her eyes and take some deep breaths. She looked to be meditating until, after another breath, she opened her eyes. The cold and malevolence she saw practically burning in that gaze made her skin crawl.

She noticed Lena and gave her a look, motioning towards Amélie. Lena grinned as the plane shuddered for a moment, announcing quietly that they had landed. The hangar door opened and Fareeha motioned with a quick chop of her hand before launching into the air.

"What was that all about?" D. Va asked Lena as they charged towards the facility.

"Oh, her?" Lena asked nodding to Amélie. "That, my dear D. Va is the Widowmaker. Best to call her by her call sign here on out. Amélie is still in there but she kinda takes the back seat and let's Widowmaker take the wheel."

"Oh, wow that's scary," D. Va swallowed. "I'm glad she's on our side."

2

 _Ana and Jack_

Ana wasn't going down without a fight. They had beaten her down but it had taken six Talon troops to do so. She didn't know if it was her restored youth or the nanomachines in her system but she loved her new body. Angela may fret forever at the accident but Ana found it to be a blessing in disguise.

That blessing seemed more like a curse as Doctor Shwartz poked and prodded her more than Angela ever thought about. Angela at least had the decency to ask permission first. Or at least tell you if something was going to be uncomfortable. Shwatrz didn't seem to care. All he wanted was the secrets of the nanomachines and how Angela had reversed age. Blood samples were just the beginning and the doctor was testing out her resilience in many creative ways. Although things healed quickly, Ana knew it was only a matter of time before the doctor found out just how much she could take without the nanomachines healing her. Seeing the malicious grin on the man's face, Ana knew he was enjoying every minute of experimenting on her.

So far, she had been choked, burned, stabbed, shot, and beaten. All proved to heal within a few moments given the severity of the injury. In the case of the beating, it gave Ana some satisfaction knowing that there were at least six Talon troops that wouldn't be fighting when her rescue came.

And she knew rescue would come. Overwatch was extremely resourceful. No matter how bad a situation became, they were always able to somehow pull through. If anything, Ana would find a way to break through and contact them. She knew Jack would be by her side. Talon thought they had them trapped but they didn't know just how screwed they were. The thought made Ana smile.

"I see you find zis amusing," the doctor said oblivious to her thoughts. "Zis is _gut, ja?_ I find it very amusing myself."

"Only because you don't know what I know," Ana said with a laugh. She hid the wince as her shoulder realigned itself to heal with a small pop. "If you think I'm some damsel in distress, I am going to prove to you just how wrong you are."

The doctor chuckled and his eyes showed no fear. This didn't bother Ana. She only sneered back. He would fear soon enough. As soon as she had an opening, she would make sure he knew fear.

"I don't zink you are a damsel in distress, meine Dame," the doctor said as he stalked to her and raised her eyes to his, raising her chin with his finger. "I don't zink you understand ze situation you are in. You see, I don't have to pull any punches vith you. Zese nanomachines in your system, zey heal just about anything I can do. It is fascinating, _ja?"_

The doctor turned and pulled an electronic machine towards where Ana was strapped to a cold metal rigging. It hummed as he turned it on.

"I also know that you can't kill me," Ana said with a laugh. "You need me alive to see what the limits of the nanomachines are. Without the fear of death, there's no reason to fear at all."

"Oh, zat is not true," the doctor said with a sneer, bringing with his two clamps connected to the electronic device. "I vill show you things vay vorse than death. I vill make you beg for me to kill you."

Ana only sneered as he connected the clamps to her metal rigging. "It seems only fair that I make you the same promise," she said coldly. "You think you are torturing me, hurting me, but in reality, you're just giving me ideas of how to get all the beautiful little secrets about Talon you must hide in that head of yours. You don't even realize all the wonderful methods of torture you've been teaching me. I can't wait to show you what an erudite student I am."

The doctor's smile faded. The look in Ana's eyes told him she was not bluffing in the slightest. Seems he didn't like not being feared and he certainly didn't like his fear tactics returned to him with the ferocity and sincerity of Ana Amari. He made sure to crank up the charge twenty percent more before testing how Ana's body reacted to electrical injuries.

Jack was trying to handle things as well as Ana. Reaper – make that Gabriel – was taking his time trying to beat the man senseless. Jack was picking himself off the ground again as Reaper paced around him slowly like a cat.

"You know, I thought this would be more fun," Reaper said. "Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to break you down, but beating down a pitiful old man is just pathetic."

Jack glared at him and spit out some blood that was making a bad taste in his mouth. "Beating down? You fight like you lead: minimal effort and grand standing like you've done something awesome. This 'old man' is barely winded. Always bragging before the job is done, eh Gabe? Must be why I was promoted while you sulked like a spoiled brat."

Reaper growled in anger and Jack knew that was his weakness. Gabe never could stomach how he had been passed up for that promotion to Commander. Even as he led the Blackwatch, he still had burning hatred and jealousy for Jack.

Jack stood now and wiped away any remaining blood on his lip with his arm. "You can't lead and you can't fight unless you have an advantage."

Reaper punched out at Jack who dodged the blow and came back to uppercut Reaper in the face. Reaper grunted but recovered quickly enough to knee Jack in the gut following through with an elbow to the back as he doubled over.

"Is this really all you've got Jack?" he taunted. "I fight when I know I'm going to win. That's not being bad, that's being smart."

"Ha!" Jack said as he got up to his feet once more. "Then I guess you think shooting fish in a barrel makes you a world class fisherman. You're a loser, Reyes, and no matter what you do or say in that Halloween getup, you always will be. You think you're all big, bad, and scary but in the end, you're just another miserable chump."

They traded blows again and again. Jack got in a few good ones but had to admit, Reaper still hit pretty damn hard. One good punch knocked Gabriel's skull mask away. As it clattered to the floor, Gabriel glared at Jack. His face was twisted with hatred and death.

"I've been meaning to ask," Jack said with a taunting sneer. "What's with the makeover? I'd say you look like hell, but I wouldn't want to offend hell."

"Why don't you ask your precious Mercy?" Gabriel answered as he picked up his mask. "The bitch just can't leave things well enough alone. No, she has to meddle. Has to try and save everyone like she's some goddamn angel. Well, she's not."

That took the wind out of Jack's sails some. He looked at Gabriel as the man replaced the skull over his face.

"Bullshit," Jack snarled. "Angela is almost a complete pacifist. Hell, she didn't even want to continue with Overwatch because of all the fighting and you're going to stand there and lie to me? Try to make me believe the doctor who revolutionized applied nanobiology to save millions of lives and won two Nobel Peace Prizes for Medicine did this to you?"

"Oh, she didn't do it on purpose," Reaper said barking out a bitter laugh. "She thought she would save me."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Zurich!" Reaper snarled taking a step towards Jack. "I'm talking about how someone blew up our headquarters sky high to get rid of us and all we worked for and I was caught in the blast. While you 'died' and disappeared to go on your stupid little crusade to find out who destroyed your precious Overwatch, I was _actually_ dying. Then, just as I'm fading away and saying goodbye to this forsaken shithole of a world, in flies Mercy and her irritatingly naive notion to save her friend!"

Reaper was up in Jack's face but didn't throw a punch or even move to fight him. He only stood there, glaring through the shadowed depths of that skull mask. Jack didn't move and only glared right back.

"She used those damned nanomachines on me and tried to raise me from the dead when she hadn't even perfected the procedure yet," Reaper said in a low rumble. "She didn't know about what we already had done with the Soldier Program but that's not the problem. The problem is she tried to do something she shouldn't have. She tried to play God. She tried to choose life and death for me instead of just letting what happened happen. And now, she got her wish alright. I'm not dead. I can't die. EVER! I'm doomed to live without living, in constant pain, constant hunger for life. She did this to me because the stupid bitch just had to interfere with fate. She had no right to choose if I lived or died!"

"Gabriel," Jack said through clenched teeth. The anger he felt and the desire to fight this man faded with an unease and a foreign feeling of sympathy. "That's what doctor's do. That's what Angela strives to do, you idiot! She isn't playing God and she didn't intend to hurt you. You're going to hold this grudge against her for trying to save your life?"

"She didn't save me," Reaper snarled back. "She damned me!"

He turned and walked away, back to the entrance of the shipping container they were using as a holding cell.

"Not to worry, Jacky-boy," he said with mocking laughter before turning to look at Morrison over his shoulder. "Once we get the programming and data we need from Amari, Angela will get her wish fulfilled. I'll be restored and this … abomination … will be corrected. I'll thank Ana personally for her help by killing her last."

Jack charged at the door as it closed but only managed to slam into the already locked metal. He only hoped Overwatch was able to find them before things got worse. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped Ana was ok.

That's when the deafening sound of a huge explosion and chaos made the ground shake.

Jack smiled. "About damn time," he said aloud.

3

 _Overwatch Strike Team_

True to her word, Widowmaker stopped only for a moment to drop to her knee, lower her visor and take two quick shots to take out the guards on the first watchtower. Once the bodies hit the floor, she immediately grabbed Torbjörn and grappled up to the tower.

"First tower taken," she reported through her communications link as she aimed to the second tower and fired off two perfect shots in succession. "Perimeter clear. Towers out."

Torbjörn barely registered Tracer and McCree teleporting to the ground with two quick jumps from the tower as Widowmaker grabbed him and grappled once again to the ground. He didn't land as gracefully as she did and grunted out a small surprised yelp. Widowmaker simply looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, no worries, lass," Torb said getting to his feet. "Just not used to flying is all."

She was about to say something but was cut short as the wall burst inwards with a ground shaking explosion and a ball of fire. Tracer and McCree joined up with Widowmaker and Torb as soon as the fire rose and shouts of alarm rang out from all around the base.

"They sure knows how to crash a party," Jesse said with a low whistle.

"Yup," Torb agreed as he took out some hand-sized explosives and passed some to Tracer and McCree. "Alright you two. These are some short range timed explosives. Magnetized for quick placement but they can also be tossed. While Widow and I cover your search, we're all gonna throw these at anything that looks like it's flammable or doesn't react well to explosives."

"We'll need to find Ana and Jack and find their equipment," Tracer said. "Once they have their stuff I guarantee those two will be more than willing to throw down with the rest of us."

"They probably stashed their weapons in the storage," Widowmaker said. "Since they don't really have holding cells for prisoners and don't have a use for them, they would just toss them into storage with everything else."

Tracer was hiding the faint blue glow of her accelerator as they waited for several groups of Talon troops to head to where Reinhardt, D. Va, and Fareeha were blasting holes in everything and everyone on the way.

"OK, I think they're quite occupied with the immediate threat," Tracer said. "Let's move!"

They burst into action, slightly splitting up but covering a wide area. Tracer headed towards a larger building that probably served as the barracks while Jesse headed around the back of another. Widowmaker grappled and moved quickly above on rooftops and picked off any Talon soldiers who were slow to move to where the main party were blasting everything in sight and Torb blasted and destroyed anything that looked like a generator or power supply.

Within a few moments, the base was plunged into darkness. Torb hooted.

"Looks like I blasted something important," he said over the com link. "Only a few lights on with backup generators."

"Like our main target," Jesse replied. "Shall we go see if we can find Ana?"

"Right behind you," Torb said.

"Be careful of any of the assassins," Widowmaker reminded them. "They are probably operational and we don't know how many they have exactly."

"Yeah guys, Widowmaker is right," Tracer added. "Their new assassins are bad news. Be aware and be alert at all times."

"Maybe we shouldn't split up then," Jesse said. "We don't know if they are going to be dispatched."

"Alright, maybe we should see if anything is important with these storage units first," Tracer said. "Might be their supplies which would be good to get rid of."

Torb caught up with Jesse and they looked around the rooftops. The familiar silhouette of Widowmaker flew over head along with the explosions of one of the side buildings. Torb nodded and started to run to the storage units to meet with Tracer when a bullet ricocheted off the building very close to his head.

"Ack!" Torb shouted as he jumped back. "Widow, one of your twins has us in her sights up on the roof. We thought that was you at first."

" _Merde,_ " Widowmaker cursed under her breath before lowering her visor and quickly scanning the rooftops. She switched between scans until the night vision spectrum caused a slender woman to appear a couple of meters away already in position and aiming at her. It was only because of Widowmaker's enhanced agility that she was able to dodge enough to the right to avoid being shot in the face. The bullet whizzed by her ear close enough to hear.

Widow was also quick on the draw as she smoothly lifted and fired her rifle, hitting her twin in the shoulder. She cursed as her aim was not dead-on but blamed it on not being able to take a few seconds to adjust for distance, resistance, and accuracy that a half second more would have corrected. As her twin was knocked off balance from the shoulder hit, it gave Widowmaker the milliseconds she needed to properly aim and squeeze off a proper shot, catching the assassin between the eyes.

She kept her rifle steady and on target until the assassin dropped from the rooftop like a puppet whose strings were cut. "Threat neutralized," Widowmaker reported.

The woman's body crashed to the ground with a sickening splat as Jesse and Torb hustled past. Torb paused only to watch as her jerky movements stopped completely with the spray of sparks and buzzing of electrical currents short circuiting.

"Looks like head shots take them out if any more show up," he announced to the whole group. "The cybernetics seem to be controlling brain functions so if you see one of the assassins, take out the heads. Not that you have a problem with head shots, Widowmaker."

"Ew," D. Va said. "Just like one of those old zombie apocalypse movies! That's scary."

"I'll cover you from up here," Widowmaker said taking a position to see her fellow agents below. She took out a couple of Talon soldiers before Pharah flew close by and tore into what looked to be a the barracks.

"Looks like we are sandwiching them towards the middle," Pharah said.

" _Ja,_ " Reinhardt agreed as he too appeared near the middle. There were still quite a few Talon soldiers coming from all sides, but the main team was holding them off and meeting in the middle with the secondary team.

"That was way quicker than I imagined it would be," D. Va said as she bowled through where a few Talon troops were pulling up with a mounted gun on a jeep. "Any sign of the Captain and 76?"

"Not yet," Tracer reported pulling open doors of the storage units. She jerked open one and found a cache of weapons that had either been shipped to the base or were set to be shipped elsewhere. She saw a familiar heavy pulse rifle and grinned. "Well, I just found their stuff," she replied happily as Torb and Jesse came up.

"That's a something at least," Jesse said as Torb grabbed the rifle and what looked to be Soldier 76's jacket and boots. Tracer caught hold of a sniper rifle and some heavy clothing as well as a smaller, more feminine, set of combat boots.

"Guys, looks like out beloved Captain and 76 are somewhere in their knickers," Tracer said.

"What!" Fareeha roared over the intercom. "I swear by all things holy that if they have done _anything_ indecent to my mother, I will kill them all slowly and painfully!"

The words were emphasized by the scream of a couple of rockets that blasted two small assault tanks, scattering shrapnel and Talon troopers in a ball of fire.

Gathering up the equipment and weapons, Torb, Jesse, and Tracer started to make their way out, blasting any Talon troops they saw. Widowmaker was sure to take out any that tried to flank them.

"Where to?" Tracer asked. "Do we all meet up and assault the lab?"

"They both might be there," Reinhardt said. "I think we took out enough of their defenses out here and no sign of them."

"We'll make sure to decimate their defenses out here and then rendezvous at the middle building," Pharah said. "Search everywhere on the way for Mama and 76, set up the explosives as you go."

Affirmative replies came one by one as the strike teams worked to clear the area. Tracer, Torb, and Jesse searched through the storage units as they went, making sure no stone was left unturned. They found food, weapons caches, electronics, and medical supplies but no sign of Captain Amari or Soldier 76.

"Maybe they are both in the main building like Pharah suggested," Tracer said. "I guess we should.."

She was interrupted by a muffled yell nearby. With all the fighting, she didn't think much of it at first until she realized it was her name.

"Tracer!" the voice yelled. "Over here!"

Tracer whirled around and ran to where the voice calling to her. "I hear you!" she called out. "Where are you?"

"To your right!" the voice called. "No, your other right! Damn girl, I know Americans and British have some differences but we still have the same right and left!"

Tracer reached the door of a storage unit with familiar blue eyes peeking between the large space between and grinned. "I didn't know if you meant my right or your right," she giggled and shoved the lock on the unit open. Soldier 76 pushed open the door as Tracer reported in.

"I found 76," Tracer said on the com. "Barefoot and in his knickers as I thought."

"L-O-L," said D. Va. "So, does he wear boxers or briefs?"

"You bloody what?!" Tracer said with a laugh. "He's got pants on, ya nutter!"

Mercy landed near and started some field dressing as Torbjörn brought the clothing and weapons. "Have you seen Ana?" she asked Jack as the yellow glow of her staff healed up most of his cuts and bruises.

Jack started to answer when a shot rang out and Angela cried out in pain. She gripped her shoulder as the group quickly moved her into the storage unit for cover. Once under the cover of the unit, Angela looked and saw the wound already healing up.

" _Scheisse!_ " she cursed as the bullet started to surface. She turned her own staff to herself to speed up the healing process.

"I'm on it," Tracer said drawing her pistols. "If it's one thing I know, it's how to deal with snipers."

She ran out firing towards where the sniper had perched. She saw a figure, male this time, ducking for cover. That didn't stop her from blinking up and behind the assassin. As he whirled around to shoot, Tracer tossed a pulse grenade and blinked away. There was a flash of light and the assassin was knocked off his feet.

"Widowmaker, do you copy?" she said as she loosed a barrage of pulse shots at the assassin. The man was quick but not as quick as Widowmaker. Tracer managed to shoot him in both the knee and shoulder.

" _Oui,_ " Widowmaker replied.

"I've got snipers," Tracer replied as she dodged the three round burst from the man's gun. "We need to clear the rooftops, love."

" _D'accord,_ " Widowmaker simply replied. She snapped her visor and went immediately to night vision. Once she saw Tracer's position, she ran towards her before seeing a flash of light from off to the left of her field of vision.

Tracer was resorting to close range combat when the shot whizzed only a few millimeters from her head. "Blimey!" she cursed. "Either I have another one on my flank or your aim has gotten really bad, love."

She heard Widowmaker chuckle. " _Non, chérie,"_ she said. "You should know I stopped shooting at you a long time ago. I've got your back."

Tracer didn't reply as her elbow crunched into the assassin's jaw. She heard bone crunch but the poor reanimated man didn't even register pain. She spun into a roundhouse kick that broke the man's neck.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," Tracer said as the dead man wobbled on unsteady legs and looked at her with soulless eyes. "Rest in peace," she added with a sigh of compassion before she blasted him in the head with both pistols.

"Another down," she said as she watched the headless body tumble to the ground. "Snipers are out and about, mates. Keep your eyes and ears open, eh?"

Another sniper had taken a perch on one of the remaining buildings that was not on fire. She silently took aim and was about to take another shot at Tracer when her face was smashed by the sudden strike of a rifle butt. Widowmaker had used the added speed of her grapple to land a devastating blow to the sniper's face, both ruining her aim and the use of a long ranged attack. The sniper, however, was unaffected more than a shattered cheekbone.

Widowmaker ducked under a kick and came up with an uppercut of her own. The crack of a knee could be heard, but the sniper was undeterred. The slack face and empty eyes that stared back at Widowmaker proved she was immune to any pain and would only stop once taken completely out of commission.

Widowmaker was not dead, but once she allowed her training to take over, she was a cold unstoppable force as well. It was too bad that she was the only one in this fight with cognitive thought to appreciate the situation. Blows were traded, punches blocked, kicks dodged, but just as it seemed they were evenly matched, the sniper drew out a pistol and fired.

The burn in Widowmaker's side made her gasp in pain. Instead of dropping, however, Widowmaker used that pain to fuel her adrenaline as she knocked the sniper's legs out from under her in a brutal kick before bringing her foot down on the sniper's gun hand, breaking the wrist in the process. She then reached down and with a swift, savage motion, twisted her hands around the woman's throat and broke her neck. The sniper twitched and sparked as the cybernetics struggled to keep the body moving until Widowmaker took aim and burst three rapid fire bullets into her head.

It wasn't until she was sure that the sniper was truly dead that the pain in her side overwhelmed her. She grit her teeth and fell to her knee. Her hand went to her side and she felt wetness. She hissed a curse as she felt the numbing cold spread.

A flash of blue told her Tracer had arrived with a squeak of alarm. Warm arms embraced her and Widowmaker sighed as she leaned on the woman's shoulders.

"Mercy!" Tracer called into the com. "I hope your shoulder is ok but Widowmaker's been hit. She's bleeding from the side. I need assistance, love!"

"I'm coming!" was was the reply as Tracer held her lover.

" _Mon dieu_ , I'm not dying, _chérie_ ," Widowmaker chuckled. "I wasn't expecting her to have a handgun. Should have been more careful."

Tracer was about to reply when D. Va and her mech landed just in time to deflect a bullet that would have taken out Tracer.

"If you're going to have a mushy romance moment, make sure there are no snipers around, noob," D. Va scolded her as she fired several bursts and took out another Talon sniper who had taken aim on the wall.

"Blimey!" Tracer said embarrassed. "Thanks D. Va. I just … damn, now I feel really stupid."

"Caring about your loved ones isn't stupid," Mercy said as she flew into view to attend to Widowmaker's wound. "You can't let emotions get in the way of a mission. It can get you both killed. Believe me, I've had a hard time remembering that myself."

"How many of those snipers do they have anyways?" Tracer said with a growl. "I mean, we did stop them from plundering any more morgues."

In response, a tower on the eastern side blew up as Pharah's rocket set it ablaze.

"I believe the perimeter is clear from up here," Pharah said.

"Perimeter cleared from down here as well," Reinhardt reported in.

"We've got 76 locked and loaded," Jesse said. "We're ready down here."

Mercy had finished up healing the gunshot to Widowmaker's side. "You alright now?"

" _Oui,_ " Widowmaker replied, stretching and testing out the newly healed muscles. "I am fine now. _Merci Beaucoup_."

"Ready here," Mercy said.

"All accounted for," Pharah confirmed. "Let's take that middle building, get my mother out of here, and light this place up."

Cheers of agreement rang out as the Overwatch team charged into the building.

Ana had to give the man some credit, he definitely wasn't bluffing about how well he could cause pain. What he didn't know is how well trained and determined Ana could be. Not to mention that no matter what the doctor tried, she was able to recover faster than she thought. It hurt – oh, it had hurt, she could attest to that – but she never let on just how much it hurt and it seemed to make the doctor angry that she wasn't afraid or even having the desired effect his torture methods should have produced.

Truth be told, she knew the more she made him angry, the worse her tortures and experiments would be. This was a necessary evil in making the man lose his focus. As he grew angry and frustrated, he would get sloppy.

For instance, he hadn't even noticed the last time he shocked her, her hand restraints had loosened up from her movements. The fool thought she was thrashing in pain (which she was) but focused beyond that pain to pull and jerk on her restraints using her tactical training to open the way for escape.

The sounds of explosions and the aftermath of impacts shook the very ground. Ana couldn't help but smile as Doctor Shwatrz looked around with worry and realization.

"Hmm," Ana mused as she worked her hands through the restraints as quietly and quickly as she could. "Don't you just hate it when unexpected company arrives without calling first?"

The doctor didn't reply only opened the door and quickly left. She could hear him shouting in German, probably demanding to know what was going on. Ana pulled on her restraints as hard as she could and managed to free her left hand. Working as quickly as she could while voices and pandemonium reigned around her, she managed to get her other hand and pulled the restraints of her feet free when the door opened again.

"We need to get-" The doctor was telling someone when the sight of a freed Ana Amari had him come up short. He had managed to grab two troops and their reaction times were too slow in Ana's opinion.

Ana slid low and knocked the first one from his feet while grabbing his gun and ramming it in his gut. The other went to shoot her, but Ana had managed to use the former as a shield. He grunted as the bullets meant for her punched into his back. Ana then raised the gun she took from her fallen meat-shield and blasted the other Talon trooper in the chest with three rapid bursts.

Doctor Shwartz was already running and Ana had to open fire on Talon troops in the building who had noticed her escape plan. She scrambled to find the exit. Getting out was top priority and meeting up with the other Overwatch – who were no doubt the attackers currently blasting the base to smithereens – was next. Hopefully, they have already found Jack.

Outside, Talon troops tried in vain to keep Overwatch from getting inside the facility. Reinhardt had already blasted down the front doors, making cover for Torbjörn and his turret while Tracer and McCree were constantly on the move, taking out troops left and right with Soldier 76, armed and geared again, taking great joy in dealing some heavy damage to the Talon army. All the while Widowmaker's aim was just as quick and precise as when she was still a Talon agent. Pharah and Mercy had to resort to staying grounded as there was no real room to fly about.

They were gaining ground but there were so many packed in.

"They seem to be turtling," Torbjörn said.

"What's that?" Tracer asked.

"It's when the enemy makes a last ditch effort to hole up in their base so they can use it for protection," D. Va said. "Best way to get through that is by taking out their defenses around them and flank from all angles so they don't have only one defense point to focus on."

"OK then, let's split up," Fareeha said. "Reinhardt, you and Torb keep up the front. Tracer, you and Widowmaker take the right. McCree and 76 take left."

Pharah and Mercy ran outside and flew as quickly as they could to the back of the building where a couple of Pharah's short range rockets blasted a good sized hole.

Talon troops were surrounded and couldn't regroup. Within moments, they knew Overwatch was overwhelming them.

Doctor Shwartz ducked and dodged trying to find a way out. It seemed agents of Overwatch were all over the place. He had grabbed a gun from a fallen trooper in a desperate attempt to arm himself. Before he could use it, someone crashed into him hard enough to crack a wall.

He looked up to see Ana Amari. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked. "I have a promise to keep."

The doctor smiled. "Zen by all means," he said picking himself up from the ground. "let's dance, _mein dame._ "

Ana was caught off guard as the doctor blocked and punched, matching her attacks almost perfectly.

"Oh good," Ana said cockily, "you've had some training. And here I thought you could just handle someone if they were strapped to a rack."

" _Nein,"_ he said with a sneer. "All Talon agents are soldiers. Some of us are just more efficient in other fields besides combat, _ja?_ "

"Well, then let's see how efficient in combat you really are," Ana sneered back.

Her punches were blocked but one managed to slip through and slam the doctor in the ribs with a meaty smack. He retaliated by bringing a knee into Ana's gut. She dodged an elbow and brought her foot around in a kick that sent the doctor spinning into the wall.

She came at him with a punch that he deflected and tried to counter with a punch of his own, which Ana nimbly stepped aside to dodge. She grabbed his extended arm and brought her knee into his face once, then twice, before roundhouse kicking the stunned man into the wall.

The man grunted in pain and actually felt something snap in his back before slumping down to the floor. Ana stalked over towards him but paused. He opened his eyes, trying to focus past the pain as he saw her grab what looked like two electrodes from a generator hookup that had been damaged in the fire fight.

" _Nein,_ " he tried to scream but it only came out as a pained wheeze. " _Nein! NEEEIN!"_

Ana felt the current through the rubberized casing still wrapped around the live wires. She didn't care. Even as her hair whipped around her like snakes, even as her skin cracked and the nanomachines in her system quickly repaired the damage she was causing to herself, even as she too felt the pain as much as the doctor did, she smiled wickedly knowing two things for certain. One, the doctor didn't have nanomachines to heal electrical burns and two, she had already built up somewhat of a resistance with all the tortures he had made her endure. As the man screamed and started smoking as his flesh blackened and cracked, Ana felt her own hands burning and figured the pain was worth it.

She pulled back and dropped the electrodes. Her hands were screaming with pain, but she could tell by the itchy sensation that the nanomachines were already fixing the damage. Doctor Shwartz wasn't so lucky. She sighed and assessed her condition before deeming it worthy to safely move around and find a way to get out of this hell hole. She stood shakily to her feet and shook her hands. Explosions and fire fights were less frequent now. Maybe she would be able to…

"Mama?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of her beloved daughter in her Raptora suit. Fareeha tore off her helmet so she could see her mother with her own eyes. Those eyes were wide with surprise and joy.

Ana stumbled towards her and Fareeha scooped her up in her arms and kissed her cheek over and over again in delight.

"Oh, habibti, I'm glad to see you too but your going to crush me in this suit," Ana laughed with joy.

"Oh Mama!" She said as she let go. "What happened to your hands?"

Ana only nodded at the very dead doctor. "He doesn't have Angela's little helpers in his system," Ana replied. "Hopefully, no Talon will. Where is your girlfriend anyway?"

"Attending to any wounded in our ranks," Fareeha replied. "I think Tracer has your gear and your boots," she said with a pointed look at her mother's dirty bare feet before lifting her up in her arms and carrying her.

"Oh, Fareeha," Ana said with a frown. "I can run, put me down."

"It's not that, Mama," Fareeha said as she hurried towards the nearest hole in the building. "Torb, what's it look like?" she switched to her com.

The building creaked loudly and the sound of metal screeching filled the air.

"Yeah, I think we over did the breaking down the defenses part," Torbjörn said with a worried tone. "Didn't really calculate the structure integrity of something that was built twenty years ago and not really maintained."

"I've got Mama," Pharah announced. "So we are good to go. Let's get out of here before the building collapses."

Everyone did just that. Some of the building already gave way and fell in pieces. One entrance Overwatch had made fell into itself and Reinhardt had to grab Widowmaker and McCree before smashing through another part of the wall with his shoulder to allow Torbjörn and Tracer to blink through after them. They all ran until they got a safe distance from the building. D. Va and Pharah carried Soldier 76 and Captain Amari while Angela flew along and joined the group as they watched the building collapse in cataclysmic fire and smoke.

"Well, that should keep Talon out of this area for a while," Reinhardt said.

"Better be sure," D. Va said climbing out of her mech. "Let's head out further and I'll make sure this place is gone for good."

They ran the distance until they were a few meters from their makeshift entrance in the wall. D. Va said something in Korean to a wrist communicator and her mech responded before flying to where the generators on the main building were located. It opened fire, making the generators explode in huge clouds of flame before self destructing in the middle of the already ruined structure.

"Aw, Hana," Lena said with a sigh. "I liked that one."

"I don't just have one, nerdlord," Hana said with a laugh. "I usually keep about six in storage. That and my sponsors make more for me. I liked Pinky too but she served her purpose."

They watched as the debris and shrapnel of the ruined research facility settled. "That should definitely cause enough ruckus to make sure that Talon won't be coming back to this part of the world any time soon," Jesse said tugging on the brim of his hat.

"And no more research to make more assassins," Widowmaker agreed.

"Yes, it was very clever," a voice said from nearby. "I wondered how you knew so much about a Talon facility."

Everyone whirled around to see Reaper emerge from the smoke and darkness. Before anyone could react, he had tossed a pulse grenade. The force of the blast sent Overwatch sprawling. Helpless, they groaned in pain and tried to regain their feet.

"So, you didn't die after all," Reaper said to Widowmaker. "I should have known. Tracer and you always had that chemistry. Don't think I didn't notice it."

Sizing up the latest threat, they stumbled to their feet. Reaper stepped into the middle of them with steady bold steps. Tracer blinked over to Widowmaker.

"You stay away from her, bastard," Tracer said with pure hatred in her eyes. "You're not taking her back. Ever!"

Reaper laughed in a way that made Tracer's skin crawl. "Why the hell would we want her back?" he said. "Talon doesn't take back traitors."

"You'd know all about being a traitor wouldn't you?" Soldier 76 taunted. " _Reyes_."

The shock of those standing was palpable. Even Tracer took a step back.

"I knew it!" Jesse said with gritted teeth and new found rage. "I knew Talon was getting former Blackwatch training from somewhere! You've been their drill instructor. You asshole!"

"Just couldn't stand it that Morrison became leader of Overwatch," Torbjörn added and Reinhardt hefted his hammer and tapped it into his palm threateningly. "You were such a jealous little girl that you had to turn traitor to your own?"

Reaper growled. "You all were never my 'own'," he snarled. "I was always better than any of you has-beens ever were. And I'm going to prove it."

Reaper pulled out his Hellfire Shotguns from out of the shadows of his coat. As one, the Overwatch crew burst into action.

Reaper proved to be quite agile and elusive as he dodged blows and bullets. Tracer tossed Ana her rifle, but even the combined efforts of her and Widowmaker proved to be barely enough to take down Talon's top commander.

Bullets flew and blows were thrown but it didn't seem anyone was getting the upper hand. Finally a shot rang out and struck Reaper on the side of the head. Widowmaker had managed to get in a good hit and Reaper's skull mask flew from his face.

Everyone held him at gunpoint. Reaper stood with his guns pointed down.

"Gabriel," Mercy said with a strangled voice. "It's over. Stand down. Please."

"How dare you!" Reaper growled. "How dare _you_ , of all these losers, tell _me_ that it's over after what you did!?"

"I tried to save you," Mercy said, tears gathering in her eyes. "I didn't know it would do this! I never meant to put you through that! Please, stand down, let me help you!"

"Still playing the saint, eh?" he said coldly as his eyes, glowing red with some unholy energy turned to her. "You don't know how much your 'help' has already been beneficial to me, _Mercy_."

Darkness and a strange redness was wafting off of him like smoke and a feeling of dread washed over the agents of Overwatch. "Allow me to show you what you have accomplished," Reaper growled.

"Look out!" Widowmaker called out. "He's calling upon-"

She never finished her warning as Reaper turned into a blur of inky blackness and red mist. His guns became a tornado of bullets and death as he spun and moved with the unnatural speed of his Death Blossom. Overwatch agents screamed in pain and shock as he tore through them in seconds. Angela watched in horror as her friends fell. Tracer turned to Widowmaker only to be shot in the back and her love blasted through the middle. D. Va didn't even get to squeeze off a round from her handgun before blood sprayed from her chest. Reinhardt couldn't get his shield up fast enough and his helmet was blown off with the force of Reaper's Hellfire Shotgun blasts. Torbjörn spun away from Jack who went down in a hail of bullets. Fareeha screamed as Ana was shot down and she, in turn, was gunned down as well. Angela felt pain in her own shoulder and stomach as she too hit the ground.

Her heartbeat was loud in her ears. They were all dead or dying. Angela felt tears spring to her eyes as she watched Fareeha crawl to her mother before looking to her with fear filled eyes that soon rolled up in defeat before she lay still.

The crunch of Reaper's boots coming close filled Angela's vision and she heard the shotgun cocking and the press of the still hot metal press into her temple.

"I've dreamed of this," Reaper said coldly. "I can't tell you what a great joy it fills me with to make sure you watch all you love and care for die in front of your eyes before I kill you. Look on the bright side, Doc. At least I can show you _mercy_."

Something welled up deep in Angela. An overwhelming feeling of strength and light through her anger and sheer determination. The scream that escaped from her mouth was primal and tore from her like the wrath of God. Light blossomed from her in a bright gold and her wings opened wide with a great shining light. She rose first to her feet and then higher into the air, her staff held above her head and her voice calling like a true angel. She would not allow her friends to die. She would not allow this to happen. She would make a difference.

Reaper stumbled back as the light didn't just blind him, it burned. He dropped his guns and covered his face as the golden light seared through him.

Angela flew down with great speed and slammed her staff into the ground, making a wave of force and light that knocked Reaper from his feet and had him rolling away from her.

" _Nein!_ " Angela said with a voice of fury and justice. "You will not win this day!"

She stood and raised her staff to the heavens above her and she glowed bright like a sun in the otherwise darkness of death and destruction.

"Heroes never die!" she declared aloud as the light exploded forth from her and illuminated all around her.

A golden glow enveloped her friends. Filling them with healing and life. As one, their eyes opened, their bodies were restored, they rose again strong and alive once more.

Reaper screamed as he felt his body burning in the fires of Mercy's light. He had to get away or she would tear him apart. With a hateful glare, he silently told her that this was far from over. Angela only glared back, her eyes blue sapphires in a sea of gold and white. Reaper shifted into the shadows of darkness and drifted away into the night once more.

The light slowly dimmed and Angela felt her strength waning. She dropped her staff as she looked around and saw her friends getting to their feet. They were checking on each other, Tracer kissing Widowmaker without hesitation when she found she was alright, Jack helping Ana, Torbjörn patting Reinhardt on the back, and Jesse helping a stunned Hana to her feet.

Fareeha came to her, calling to her, and Angela laughed with joy as she collapsed from exhaustion into her lover's arms.

"Angela!" Fareeha called in fear, cradling her lover. "Oh, Angela, speak to me!"

"You," Angela said barely able to keep her eyes open. "You're … alive."

The others came running up. Angela only smiled.

"Is she alright?"

"What the hell was that?"

"I've never seen her do that before."

"Angela," Fareeha said "Are you alright? Come on, speak to me _habibti!_ "

" _Ja_ ," Angela answered with a sigh. "Take … take me back to Overwatch. Medical Bay," she licked her lips as her eyes fluttered. "Tell Athena, 'nanomachine infusion' … protocol … 12."

Fareeha shook her head in confusion as Angela slumped in her arms. "Angela? Angela!"

"It's ok, Fareeha," Ana said patting her daughter's shoulder. "She just passed out from exertion. We need to get her to her med bay quickly."

They started back for the Overwatch transport as quickly as they could. Once aboard, Fareeha never left Angela's side as Tracer started up the engines and flew them to Gibraltar as fast as the plane could fly.

"Winston, do you copy?" Fareeha reported in once they were in the air.

"Winston here," he replied a moment later.

"Mission complete," Fareeha said. "No casualties but Angela did something to overpower her healing abilities and is unconscious. She said to ready the medical bay and have Athena do something about a nanomachine infusion."

"Nanomachine infusion protocol 12," D. Va said remembering the details that Fareeha could not. "Whatever that means."

"It is her procedure to replenish and activate the nanomachines in her body," Athena replied. "I will ready the medical bay at once. What is your ETA?"

"Approximately four hours if we can keep up current speeds," Tracer answered.

"I'll have it ready," Athena replied. "In the meantime, make sure she rests to replenish the overload and, if possible, allow her staff to do some rudimentary healing."

4

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar two days later_

The light was bright. It wasn't blinding but it was bright to her eyes. She could hear the hum of machines and some voices but they seemed fuzzy as if she were under water. The thought of water made her realize her throat was dry and she licked her lips.

"Mmm," she said. Her eyes were heavy still but she was able to open them.

She couldn't have asked for a more beautiful sight as what greeted her eyes once shapes and colors sharpened to reveal the face of Fareeha Amari, smiling.

"You are awake?" Fareeha asked her gently.

" _Ja,_ " Angela said feeling her own smile. Soft warm lips pressed to hers and she hummed.

"How do you feel?" Fareeha asked.

Angela sat up some with a little help and took a deep breath. "So far so good."

She noticed the nanomachine infuser folded away near the bed she was in. "The infusion procedure must have been a success," Angela replied looking at her hand and flexing her fingers.

"Yes," Fareeha said taking hold of that hand and kissing her knuckles. "We were so frightened. It wasn't like you were going to die but we didn't know what happened."

"I," Angela thought about it and sighed. "I overstepped my bounds again."

"Desperation can cause you to do desperate things," Fareeha said. "All I remember was seeing us all get killed and feeling my own life fade from me. Then I heard your voice as if calling my soul back to my body and a warm, enveloping light that filled me and embraced me. It was both beautiful and terrifying."

"I was so scared," Angela said touching Fareeha's cheek. "I don't even know how I did it or why. I just felt I needed to … do … something. I can't even begin to explain it."

"Perhaps all those experimental nanomachines in your system allow you some miraculous powers you hadn't discovered," Fareeha said.

"I will definitely have to do some research," Angela said with a laugh. "With as many accidental discoveries we have experienced with applied nanobiology, we may be only know the tip of a great iceberg."

"OK, doctor," Fareeha kissed her forehead. "Before you get all scientific and start haunting your lab all night, you owe me some quality time."

Angela smiled and nodded. "Of course," she said. "You are my number one priority, _Leibling_. Research can wait. How long have I been out?"

"Two days," Fareeha said.

Angela looked at her with wide eyes. " _Mein Gott_ ," she said before giving Fareeha a stern, knowing look. "You sat here for two days and watched over me didn't you?"

Fareeha blushed and Angela giggled. "You are my number one priority too," Fareeha said with a girlish grin.

Angela pulled her lover closer and kissed her tenderly. "I guess the others will be wondering about me," Angela whispered softly onto Fareeha's lips.

"They don't have to know right away," Fareeha said and kissed Angela deeply.

EPILOGUE

1

Jack sat in the tavern listening to the music playing over the sound system. It was some new techno mix he hadn't heard of but the sound wasn't unpleasant. Ana sat nearby with her own drink. They sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying the atmosphere and company.

"So about that kiss we shared," Ana said with a grin.

"Ah, God," Jack sighed. "I knew you were gonna bring that up."

"Well one of us had to," Ana said with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, you gotta admit, I don't think either one of us was expecting that."

"I was overcome by … hell, I dunno," Jack said running fingers through his hair. Ana had to chuckle at how he squirmed.

"I seriously didn't even know you were attracted to me," Ana said. "I would say you're a dirty old man but we both know that just because I look thirty doesn't mean I _am_ thirty."

"Ok, enough teasing," Jack said. "Can we just say it happened and drop it?"

"Oh, no," Ana said with a grin. "No way. No how. Uh-uh. You're going to own up to this John Morrison. I'm not just some girl you can kiss and forget about like it was some school crush. We aren't teenagers."

Jack took a drink of his beer before setting it down and turning to Ana. Her smile dropped as she saw the intense look in his eyes that were very beautifully blue. How had she not noticed that before?

"Ok, you wanna do this? Let's do this," Jack said.

He didn't say another word but lifted his hand to brush back the hair from her eyes. Ana felt her heart pound and her eyes widen. _Oh my God_ , she thought. Jack moved slowly closer to her and she subconsciously licked her lips as her eyes flicked to his and back to his eyes.

Jack stopped a breath away from Ana's mouth and just looked at her. Her heart was pounding and her breath hitched. Finally, a grin spread on his lips.

"You _want_ me to kiss you, don't you," Jack said softly.

Ana made a small sound of shock. "You … you jerk," she said feeling the warmth creep into her cheeks. "How can you tease me like that?"

"You and I are close," Jack said still holding her with his eyes. His fingers calloused but warm on her face. "We always have been and always will be. We've been through so much that I can't believe we haven't done this before. But we gotta ask ourselves, is this what we really want?"

Ana only regarded him in silence. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I will admit, I have been lonely. Being dead to the world, separated from my daughter, losing my husband, it has been a tremendous strain on me. My heart hurts, Jack. I am so tired and sometimes, I just want someone to hold me and tell me it's alright."

Jack did lean in this time and kissed her … on her forehead.

"I will admit that I'm glad you have been with me through all this," Jack told her. "I trust you more than anyone. I trust you with everything. I..." he faltered a bit. "Alright I guess I do love you, just not in the sense you would mean it."

Ana eyebrows rose so high that they just about vanished into her hairline.

"Why, Jack Morrison," she smiled. "I never thought I would ever hear you say that. I … I feel the same. We may not be lovers but I do love you, you old goat. If I haven't ever said it, well … thank you for being with me through all of the things we've had to go through. I know I couldn't have done it alone. Nor would I have wanted to."

"As long as I'm breathing, I will be by your side," Jack said. "Just don't say anything to Fareeha, ok? I don't think -" he stopped and they both stiffened as they both felt eyes on them.

Jack and Ana both turned to look at the young Mexican girl in the black and purple hoodie and black shorts standing a respectful distance away. She smiled and held up her hands.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Honestly, Jack, I didn't know you were bringing a date? _¿Que es esto?_ "

"She's not a date, Sombra," Jack said rolling his eyes and motioning for her to have a seat. Ana sat back and regarded the young woman with appreciative eyes.

"Now, I am impressed," she said low. "You are the infamous Sombra?"

Sombra smiled and gave a flick of her purple-tipped mohawk. " _Si,_ " she said. "I didn't get introductions though. _Señor_ Morrison, you should know that bringing someone else to a meeting that wasn't expected raises a lot of suspicion. You're lucky I stayed."

"Guess I'm getting a little rusty in my old age," Jack laughed. "Sombra, this is Captain Ana Amari. Ana, Sombra."

Sombra's grin fell and her mouth opened in shock as wide as her eyes. " _Oi, Dios Mio!_ " she breathed. " _You_ are _Ana Amari?_ "

"Yes," Ana said with a grin. "Pleased to meet you."

"Forgive me for being so blunt, _Capitán,_ but you don't look like you're sixty."

Both Jack and Ana chuckled and even slightly cuddled to each other. "Let's just say, I've had a huge makeover," Ana said. "It's part of an accident that _cannot_ be discovered. Not yet at least."

Sombra made a sealing motion with her finger and thumb over her lips before winking. "Gotcha, _amiga._ "

Jack called a waiter over and ordered Sombra a beer which she complimented his tastes for. After the beer was served and the waiter returned to other duties, they all leaned forward.

"Now then, _mi amiga,_ " Jack said. "How about we trade some important notes about these mysterious powers that be that you came across by accident and how they may possibly be what destroyed Overwatch."

Sombra took out a data pad and started bringing up some things she had compiled to show them. "You got it," she said. "Let me tell you why I keep playing along with Talon and about what I refer to as 'The Eye'..."

2

Emily Smith chatted along with Gwendolyn Parks, one of her students from the adult classes of her ballet studio. Gwendolyn and Emily had hit it off and started dating. At first, Emily was a little apprehensive about dating Gwen but after a good phone conversation with Lena (in which there was a lot of encouragement for details of who she was and a lot more encouragement to go for it after details were discussed), Emily and Gwendolyn hit it off grandly and had been getting pretty serious after a couple of months.

Emily had, of course, told Gwen about Lena Oxton and Gwen, of course, knew who the infamous Tracer was. She had to admit she was a bit star-struck to meet the former Overwatch agent. Once Emily told her who Lena's girlfriend was, Gwen was absolutely a bundle of nerves and excitement. She had, for the millionth time, fidgeted and wondered if she was going to be ok with meeting Lena Oxton and Amélie Lacroix.

"Amélie Lacroix?" Gwen had asked with a shocked expression. " _The_ Amélie Lacroix? Oh wow, what are the odds of that?"

"Well, come to find out, Amélie's late husband was actually a big part of Overwatch back in the day," Emily said. She and Lena had made sure to get their stories straight about who Amélie was and to keep certain details (like that she was really Widowmaker, the internationally wanted sniper assassin who hadn't been cleared of any charges and was only safe because no one actually had seen her face to identify her) under wraps. "The poor dear has actually been through a lot which is why she hasn't been doing any dancing or been in the spotlight for a long time."

"Oh?" Gwen had said. "The poor dear. You said _late_ husband. She's a widow, then?"

Emily nodded sadly. "Oh yes," she said with a grim expression. "Seems the bloke was murdered by an assassin who opposed Overwatch. They never really found out who did it."

"Oh, that is awful!"

"Yes," Emily said. "And then, after facing that, the poor thing developed a rare heart condition. Seems her heart rate slowed to a dangerous rate and her whole circulatory system is affected. She's been treated by a great doctor, Dr. Angela Ziegler. You know, the Swedish doctor who developed applied nanobiology? Turns out, she was once a part of Overwatch as well and so it was a lucky break that Ms. Lacroix was able to be treated by her."

"Well, that is wonderful!" Gwen said. "And how's she doing now?"

"Well, it's been a few years and she still goes for check ups, Lena says, but outside of some rather … different … appearance, ah, anomalies, Amélie is in top shape."

Gwen lifted an eyebrow. "What kind of 'appearance anomalies'? Is the poor dear deformed?"

Emily cleared her throat. "Oh, no, she's actually beautiful," she said with a nervous smile. "Smashing really, she's just … well, she's _blue._ "

Gwen's other eyebrow rose to meet its twin. "Blue?"

"Yes, well, you'll see when she gets here," Emily said. "It can be a little startling at first but well, with her circulation and heart rate being slower than normal, her body was oxygen starved for long periods of time before she could be treated to handle the slower heart rate and well, her skin takes on a pale blue color. Almost periwinkle, really."

"Poor dear must get some odd looks from those not used to that," Gwen said concerned.

"Oh, you get used to it pretty quickly," Emily said. "It's also made her quite reserved and shy so she doesn't speak much. Don't let that bother you though. Once she gets to know you, she opens up quite a bit. Ah, here they are."

Gwen looked up to where Emily was waving and saw a young brunette with spiky brown hair and a large jacket walking with a tall slender beauty dressed in a black overcoat and a scarf. Gwen stood with Emily as she greeted Lena with a hug and turned to Amélie who kissed both her cheeks.

"Ladies, this is Gwendolyn," Emily said giving Gwen a loving hug.

"Lena Oxton," Lena said shaking Gwen's hand. The woman was absurdly cute, almost girlish, with big hazel eyes and a bright smiling face that was sprinkled with just enough freckles to make her adorable.

"Hello Lena," Gwen said with a genuine smile. "I am so glad to finally meet you. Emily has told me so much about you and, may I say, I know it's been a while since Overwatch and all that bother you and your mates had to deal with, but I wanted to say I'm proud to meet 'Tracer' In person. It's a real honor, it is."

"Aw, I'm flattered, love, thank you," Lena said giving Gwen a hug before turning her attention to the French beauty beside her. "This is my girl, Amélie Lacroix."

Gwen's eyes opened wide in delight and surprise. It was indeed Amélie Lacroix. And, true to Emily's word, the woman was a pale shade of periwinkle. Two golden eyes peered from a beautiful face that Gwen remembered gracing many ballet tour posters when she was a child.

"Hello, Ms. Lacroix," Gwen said in awe. "It is very delightful to meet you. I followed a lot of your ballet when I was a wee girl and it is so awesome to meet you now."

" _Bonjour,_ " Amélie said and kissed Gwen's cheeks in greeting. "The pleasure is mine. Please, call me Amélie."

"Right, Amélie," Gwen said with a big grin.

"Well, shall we?" Emily said escorting them into the cafe where they had agreed to eat lunch.

The women all sat at a table near the window. Emily had chosen this because she knew Gwen would see it as enjoying the beautiful view of the street and Amélie would appreciate the clear view as opportunity to spot any trouble. She smiled slightly as Amélie silently congratulated her on her tactical decision with her eyes. Dating an Overwatch agent for as long as she did made her pretty aware of little things like that.

Gwen was just about to sit when her phone rang. She looked at the display and sighed.

"Ugh, it's Mum," she said rolling her eyes. "Forgive me ladies but if I don't answer, she'll just keep calling until I do. If she has to keep calling, she just assumes I've died or something."

The others chuckled at that.

"I won't be long," Gwen said before giving Emily a kiss and walking outside, but still in view of the window.

"I like her," Lena said nodding to the woman. "She's a sweetie, I can tell."

" _Oui,_ " Amélie said. "Perky and sweet, strives to be independent even though her mother thinks otherwise. That is a good quality, _non?_ "

"She is quite sweet," Emily said with a dreamy expression and a smile spreading lazily across her face.

Lena looked at Amélie and they shared a smile of their own before she turned back to Emily. "You really like her," she said.

Emily seemed a little startled at that and even blushed. "Well, I am growing rather fond of her, yes."

"Hmm," said Amélie with a smirk. " _Oui,_ that is the look of a woman who is 'rather fond' of someone."

Lena giggled and Emily blushed harder.

"Oh, you two," Emily chided. "She really is pretty sweet and beautiful and kind and..."

She stopped and her expression changed to one of real embarrassment.

"Ems," Lena said with concern. "What is it?"

"I," she started and then rolled her eyes. "God, I just feel really bloody … I dunno. I guess strange would be the word."

"You have nothing to feel strange about," Lena said shaking her head. "We've talked about this."

"I know," Emily said. "It just takes some getting used to is all."

"Does she make you happy?"

Emily didn't have to think about that for long before saying "Yes, she does."

"Then that is all that you need," Lena said. "If you are happy then that is all that is important."

"And you two," Emily said pointing between the two of them. "Are you?"

"Yes," Lena said smiling at Amélie who smiled back and took Lena's hand. "We are."

"Then all is right in the world," Emily said with a laugh. "At least for now, eh?"

Amélie reached out and took Emily's hand. Although her skin was cold, Emily felt the warmth in the gesture.

"I would just like to say, _merci beaucoup,_ " Amélie said. "Truly, being with Lena is a wonderful thing and we owe it to you, _ma amie._ "

"Yes," Lena said. "I will admit it was hard for me … well, hard for both of us, but especially for me … but we are both happy. And I am so glad you are able to find someone special too."

Emily smiled and her eyes grew wet with tears before she sniffed and hastily wiped them.

"Ok you two, enough with the sweet talk," she said with a laugh. "Gwen is gonna come back and see me all waterworks and wonder what the bloody hell is going on while she's on the phone with her Mum."

About that time, Gwen came back inside and sat down with a huff and a swift kiss to Emily's cheek.

"I am so sorry about that," Gwen said. "You wouldn't believe how nosy my Mum is. I mean, I love her to pieces, but a girl is entitled to her own happiness and secrets, eh?"

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "We can definitely understand that."


End file.
